18 December 2025 Trade Data Monitor LLC   After falling year-on-year in October, China’s exports rebounded in November enough that it is almost certain that for 2025, the country that was mired in poverty when you and I were born will become the first nation ever to record a trillion-dollar trade surplus. The number is just a number, but it’s a big one, and it’s sending shockwaves through boardrooms and national leadership offices across the globe. French president Emmanuel M

18 December 2025 E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd   Last week news broke that the G7 group of countries were considering removing the oil price cap, which was first implemented at the end of 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The removal of the cap would see a full and unconditional ban on G7/EU companies providing maritime services to support Russian oil trade, in effect pushing Russian business entirely to the shadow fleet. Whether this is bullish or bearish for tanker

18 December 2025   Windward   Skipper  was not an outlier. It represented the dominant operating model of today’s dark fleet. Sanctioned in 2022 for its role in an oil-smuggling network tied to Iran and Hezbollah, the vessel continued operating by exploiting systemic weaknesses. It broadcast AIS data that later proved inconsistent with its true movements. At the time of the boarding,  Skipper’s  AIS placed the tanker more than 500 nautical miles away, off the coast of Guyana

04 December 2025 AXSMarine   Panamax Cargo Trends Highlight Shifts in Global Demand Panamax bulk carriers between 68K and 85K deadweight have transported more than 960 million metric tons of Dry Bulk commodities since the beginning of 2025. This represents a 4.6 percent year-over-year increase and puts the fleet on track to exceed the one billion metric ton threshold for a second consecutive year. Steam Coal remains the most commonly shipped commodity aboard Panamaxes in 2025

04 December 2025 Vortexa   India’s crude imports rose by 220kbd m-o-m to 5.0mbd in November 2025, reaching a seasonal high and approaching the March 2025 record of 5.05mbd. The increase was driven primarily by a sharp rise in Russian crude discharges into India, which climbed 340kbd m-o-m to 1.80mbd. This report examines the drivers behind India’s surge in Russian crude arrivals and assesses the implications for mainstream crude demand and the forward curve. Source: Vortexa I

04 December 2025 E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd Once again, negotiations are ongoing to end the war in Ukraine. Back in August we wrote the second iteration of this report, after President Trump and Putin’s first face to face meeting in the former’s second term. That meeting yielded little progress, however, the most recent push for peace has seemingly taken us closer to an end to the war in Ukraine than at any other point since its outset. Negotiations are ongoing, and the init

20 November 2025 Windward   Six sanctioned Russia-trading tankers are signaling that they are berthed at the Oman port of Duqm, amid an escalation in  deceptive shipping practices  in the area as key buyers in India and China pause or review oil purchases. The tankers, all part of  Russia’s sanctions-evading shadow fleet , are broadcasting Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals placing them at berths in Duqm, with five arriving between October 27 and November 11. They

20 November 2025 Vortexa   The dirty tanker market continues to ride strong momentum, supported by a  surge in oil on water ,  a divergence between laden and ballast speeds , and an uptick in long-haul voyages heading East. At the forefront of this strength are the VLCCs, which remain the clear leaders in the current market rally. VLCC utilisation now stands at around 57% — the highest level since 2020, when the price shock triggered a floating storage boom. Employment has be

20 November 2025 Trade Data Monitor The Chinese export juggernaut finally started to show the impact of protectionism and weaker Western consumer markets in October. A week after Presidents Trump and Xi settled a new trade deal that cut tariffs and put off their trade war for a year, China reported a 1.1% year-on-year drop in exports to $305.3 billion. To be sure, this is only one month. China has shown resiliency thus far in 2025, finding other markets as Washington puts up

06 November 2025 VIZION   The October 2025 U.S.–South Korea trade agreement marks a turning point in bilateral economic strategy. What began as tariff negotiations has evolved into a $350 billion industrial investment pact designed to stabilize foreign exchange markets, strengthen strategic industries, and align both economies across technology, shipbuilding, and defense supply chains. A Deal Built on Stability and Strategy Phased $350 Billion Investment Framework The agreeme

06 November 2025 Vortexa   Global seaborne crude exports remain at seasonally high levels in October despite a comedown from September levels, when global exports crossed ~45mbd. But who is putting these barrels out on water and -- in an oversupplied market -- who will be the first to tap out? As far as supply is concerned, OPEC-8 seaborne exports have been ramping up significantly over the past two months, while on the non-OPEC side, it is the Americas that have seen strong

06 November 2025 POTEN & PARTNERS, a division of BGC Group   What does the US-China trade deal mean for tankers? Over the last 8 months, we have written several Opinions about the U.S. port fees on Chinese owned and built ships. In February, when these fees were first proposed, we wrote ‘Chinese Shipping in The Crosshairs’; followed by several updates as the fees and exemptions were amended in reaction to public comments (e.g. ‘Make America Build Ships Again’) and most recent

24 October 2025 E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd   On October 14, both the US and China imposed prohibitively expensive port fees on tonnage linked to the other country. The USTR’s Section 301 measures were published and analysed well in advance. In contrast, China’s measures arrived with little notice; Beijing issued only a late-September warning that it would retaliate. China’s special port fees apply to any ship with clear US links calling at Chinese ports: vessels owned or op

24 October 2025 Kpler   In a significant break from years of cloaked operations, Iranian crude tankers - including non-Iranian-flagged ships - are now transmitting AIS signals with rare consistency. Kpler’s latest tracking shows that only 14 out of 89 vessels carrying Iranian oil remained dark over the past 48 hours, reversing a longstanding evasion pattern. The timing of this shift is fuelling market speculation that sanctions relief is coming . It follows US President Dona

24 October 2025 Signal   U.S. shipments vanish in September as South America fills the gap China’s soybean supply chain took a sharp turn south in September. No U.S.-origin soybeans were discharged at Chinese ports, the first zero month since 2018, as buyers leaned heavily on Brazil and Argentina. Signal Ocean cargo flow analytics confirm U.S. volumes collapsing while South American loadings surged, coinciding with a jump in CBOT soybean futures on renewed U.S.–China deal hop

9 October 2025 Vortexa   When the UN’s snapback sanctions on Iran officially returned on September 27, many expected exports to falter....

9 October 2025 Windward   An Overview of Trump’s Tariff Measures Liberation Day tariffs:  On April 2, 2025, the administration launched a...

9 October 2025 AXSMarine   The world’s major container carriers saw their profitability slip sharply in the second quarter of 2025....

25 September 2025 Windward The government of Comoros has begun a clean-out of its international flag registry which has been central to ...

25 September 2025   Signal Global Perspective Global coal demand reached 8.79 billion tons in 2024, marking a new record. According to...