With the holidays fast approaching, the maritime sector is preparing to sail into the new year and to make some important decisions. As is the case every year, boardroom deliberations are in full swing about the best investments for the upcoming year. According to a new report from Fitch Ratings, next year will still be challenging due to a myriad of geopolitical and policy risks. Shipping will also be hit by the lower GDP growth expected across most major economies in 2026 compared to 2025. Tariff disputes have moderated expectations for volume growth, particularly for container shipping, in 2025 and 2026, while a resumption of Red Sea transits could lead to a reduction in tonne-mile demand. Fitch believes that an increase in trade protectionism by tariffs could alter trade flows and limit demand for some high-margin or critical products over the medium term, but the sector could see new trade lanes that would strengthen to offset those more affected by tariffs. The report claims that container shipping performance will weaken in 2026 as lower freight rates resulting from a weakened supply-demand balance will lead to lower profits in 2026. Fitch does point out that tankers should continue to perform well, particularly crude tankers, due to growth in end demand and tonne-miles. Some segments, such as LNG and car carriers, will remain broadly stable. It is also important to note that the shipping orderbooks have increased moderately across various segments, but scrapping remains low, resulting in a moderate capacity increase. Adam Kent, managing director at Maritime Strategies International (MSI), agrees with several aspects of this report and believes that the circling geopolitical winds will continue to impact markets into 2026. “These forces, coupled with asset prices that remain relatively high and stubbornly sticky against a volatile earnings backdrop, make choosing a sector to invest in over the next 12 months more challenging than usual,” he explains to Splash Extra. But with those forces being so “stubborn”, it is challenging to see a clear-cut winner in the best investment category, as the experts we talked to have all shown. Mark Williams, who heads up consultancy Shipping Strategy, says it is all about crude oil tankers with the world’s oil markets set to be oversupplied by 2m to 4m barrels per day in 2026. He also notes that there is already a record amount of crude oil on the water, something also seen in the Fitch report. “Non-OPEC oil supplies are growing fast, particularly in the Americas. Most agencies have binned their predictions of peak oil demand any time before 2035. The crude oil tanker’s orderbook looks under control. The shadow fleet has very low utilisation rates. The stars are aligned in a tanker syzygy, and I think the good news will last through next year,” Williams says in his 2026 best bet prediction. Longer term, he does believe that the organisation which can create zero-carbon fuel at the required scale to fuel shipping will win the race for the 21st century. When asked about a particular sector which would be a safe investment in 2026, MSI’s Kent points towards boxships. “The container charter market is expected to remain resilient well into next year. Liners, wary of being caught short of capacity at critical moments, are continuing to secure any available tonnage – often at elevated rates – to protect network integrity,” he tells Splash Extra. He sees this persisting regardless of a wave of large newb