The return of Donald J Trump to the White House in January made for the most shipping headlines from any American president in living memory. From tariffs to port fees and his stance on the environment, Trump has shaken up the global economy dramatically and rewired global trade. As is common in shipping, chaos has been kind to shipowners’ bottom line – the ClarkSea Index, a weighted barometer of shipping earnings, standing currently at $32,590 a day, 60% above the 10-year trend. Shipping faces the prospect of prolonged regional fragmentation when it comes to environmental regulation. October 18 saw International Maritime Organization member states vote for a one-year delay in the Net-Zero Framework (NZF), throwing shipping’s path towards decarbonisation into considerable doubt. The campaign to down the NZF was led by the US and Saudi Arabia. IMO The Houthis officially announced on November 10 that they have paused maritime attacks in the wake of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Latest shipping traffic data points toward a rise in Suez Canal transits, with authorities in Egypt hoping the truce will lead to a full-scale return to normal traffic on the artery connecting trade between Asia and Europe. As the year comes to a close, the security situation in and around the Black Sea is perilous as Ukraine and Russia’s war at sea escalates. Cable-cutting merchant vessels made headlines in Europe and Asia throughout the year with navies around the Baltic pressed into action to try and stop Russian-linked vessels from taking out subsea infrastructure, and Taiwan also on alert following Chinese attacks to its subsea network. One of the world’s most famous names in shipping disappeared following a shareholder vote in Bermuda in August. Golden Ocean Group, originally founded in 1978 by Fred Cheng before being sold under Chapter 11 protection to John Fredriksen’s Frontline in 2000, has now been folded into Alexander Saverys-led CMB.TECH with its shares delisted in New York and Oslo. Other famous brands fading from view this year included P&O and Unifeeder. Dubai-based ports and logistics player DP World is drawing its core marine services units under one global identity, retiring the long-standing Unifeeder and P&O names. The tectonic shifts in shipbuilding plates recorded this year are the highest this century with the blowtorch becoming a geopolitical weapon. The US sought to resurrect its shipyards, seeking help from the Japanese and Koreans. Korean major yards expanded across the world, while the Japanese rallied together, while on the sidelines, India made good on promises to develop its own shipbuilding prowess. Titans to have passed this year included Philippe Louis-Dreyfus, Dr Helmut Sohmen and Jim Lawrence, the American founder of Marine Money and MTI Network. TagsSplash Extra December 2025