Maersk makes big upward revision on full-year financial guidance amid soaring rates Container freight rates across all the major east–west trades have soared since February as a result of higher bunker fuel prices driven by the war with Iran and cargo frontloading in the trans-Pacific.

By Charlie Duxbury Jun 27, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Sweden is fitting machine guns to its civilian coast guard vessels to better counter what it views as an intensifying threat from Russia-linked vessels on the Baltic Sea. The weapons, of the KSP 58-type, will better allow coast guard staff to defend themselves at sea, Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar […]

The global shipping industry continues to view geopolitical instability as its greatest business risk, according to the International Chamber of Shipping’s latest Maritime Barometer, with industry leaders warning that political tensions are increasingly driving a wide range of operational challenges across the sector. The ICS Maritime Barometer 2025-2026based on responses from 185 maritime executives, found […]

The UK could become a dumping ground for low-value imports come July, prompting industry leaders to urge the government to accelerate the removal of its de minimis tax reforms.

The US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz may allow container ships to return to the waterway, but the scale of disruption means that a full recovery of container shipping is at least three months away, warns Xeneta. Announced this week, the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extend the ceasefire between the US […]

Global semiconductor hiring cooled in April 2026 after a Q1 surge, with postings down 6.6% month on month. Credit: Shutterstock For company leaders, detailed hiring and workforce data is an early warning system for performance. It shows where skills are strengthening or eroding and gives a forward-looking view that guides smarter investment, cost and competitiveness […]

What STCW regulations actually require Established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1978 and significantly updated through the 2010 Manila Amendments, STCW sets the minimum training and competency standards that flag states, employers, and port state control authorities rely on. Rather than leaving safety standards to individual governments, the convention ensures that a certified […]