The Lloyd’s List Intelligence Executive Meeting is an annual Gothenburg gathering of shipping leaders and analysts who share views on how best to navigate the turbulent waters that lie ahead. While this is generally a pretty exclusive affair the podcast team were granted an access all areas pass and headed off to Gothenburg in search of insight. Featuring on this week’s edition with our Markets Editor Michelle Wiese Bockmann we have: LLI’s lead analyst Christopher Palsson talking tanker numbers, ABB’s marine and ports head Jorgen Karlsoon talking tech and Stena Bulk chief Erik Hanell talking security and Stena Impero.

Shipping has once again been left with the threat of getting caught in the crossfire of escalating tensions in the wake of the US killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Joining the Podcast this week to discuss the risk assessment for shipping in the Strait of Hormuz are Bimco’s head of safety and security Jakob Larsen and Senior Maritime Analyst at Control Risks, Cormac Mc Garry

It’s that time of year when we start to reflect on the achievements of the past 12 months, look forward to what next year holds in store, then hurry to the Lloyd’s List local for a festive round of drinks.

The questions on the table for this week’s Podcast are simple: What was your story of 2019 and what is your prediction for 2020?

Gathered around the Lloyd’s List microphone with Editor Richard Meade this week are: Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Anastaassios Adamopoulos, James Baker and Richard Clayton.

The Lloyd’s List Podcast will be taking a break over the festive period, but we will be back in January with more audio insights. For now though, Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all our listeners.

Lloyd’s List has been polling the industry on everything from AI to zero carbon fuels over the past months and the results formed the backbone of the discussions at our annual Outlook Forum in London last week, with a panel of experts offering the analysis and context. This week’s podcast offers you a few highlights from the events including views from Citi, Shell and Intertanko on: the greatest challenge to the future efficiency of operations in shipping, the greatest threat to the shipping industry over the next five years and the question of which fuel is going to propel shipping into a zero carbon future.

How do the Greek shipowners feel this year has gone and what’s keeping them up at night when they look to 2020? The podcast lands in Athens this week for the annual sequined festival of camp showbiz excess and shipping excellence that is the Greek Shipping Awards. Joining Lloyd’s List editor Richard Meade to dissect for the fortunes of shipping’s most vibrant of markets are our two resident Greeks, Athens correspondent Nigel Lowry and London-based reporter Anastassios Adamopoulos

This week we’re crunching the numbers and offering up a market forecast with Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s analytical oracle Christopher Pålsson and our own Editor and regular Podcast host Richard Meade. The pair talk through everything from growth trends to regulatory risk in their consideration of the dynamic trends that will be shaping shipping markets in 2020.

The Lloyd’s List team have continued their world tour this week hosting events in the Middle East and Asia. In this week’s audio dispatch our chief correspondent Richard Clayton offers up his view from Dubai where he has been talking smart ports, while our China Editor Cichen Shen and Asia news editor Vincent Wee give us the insider’s view from Hong Kong maritime week and more importantly the Lloyd’s List’s eagerly anticipated Innovation Forum

The campaign for mandatory speed limits for shipping suffered a blow during technical talks at IMO this week. For some that is crucial mistake and a missed opportunity. For others it is an effective strategy to reduce emissions. In this week's podcast we get the view from both sides: Danish Shipping director Maria Skipper Schwenn and Transport & Environment shipping analyst Faig Abbasov explain what the future is for decarbonisation

The Lloyd’s List Podcast is in Shanghai this week where China’s President Xi Jinping has been leading the discussions around trade policy and Chinese shipping giant Cosco has been talking up the value of a multi-lateral, value-added approach to supply chains. Joining Lloyd’s List Editor Richard Meade to discuss everything from trade policy and Trump bashing to Chinese leasing and why cargo interests are leapfrogging shipowners in news deals are China Editor Cichen Shen and special guest Bill Guo, executive director of the Chinese leasing giant ICBC.

Environmental protection is ultimately going to trump trade, according to our Podcast guest this week - the IMO’s head of air pollution and energy efficiency, Edmund Hughes. Speaking to Lloyd’s List Editor Richard Meade and reporter Anastassios Adamopoulos in this week’s edition he talks us through his confidence around 2020 implementation, the lessons learned there about what happens next in the decarbonisation debate, and the role of the IMO amid rapidly changing political dynamics that it has limited agency in controlling.