Tariffs, tensions in the Middle East, and the IMO’s GHG reduction measures – it’s been a complex first half of the year for shipping.

In a five-part series mid-year, we take stock of shipping markets in the first six months of the year and look ahead to the remainder of the 2025 with experts Maritime Strategies International (MSI).

In this first part the Seatrade Maritime Podcast talked to Adam Kent, Managing Director of MSI, about the overall macro-economic picture for shipping so far in 2025, and what lies ahead.

It’s been a six-month period that has seen an array of geopolitical factors influencing shipping markets from US President Trump’s tariffs and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 301 investigation to conflict between Iran and Israel, and sanctions related to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Overviewing the situation Kent comments: “It's been yet another busy six months from a shipping market perspective, and I think there's even more moving parts now that we're having to grapple with, and these come on top of the ones that we have the start of the year.”

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