The Lloyd’s List Outlook Forum: Is the dark fleet getting darker?

The volume and frequency of sanctions being targeted against shipping has never higher, or more visible, Sanctions are now a daily part of the Lloyd’s List news agenda, so it’s sometimes difficult to see how and how fast things are changing. But the risk and compliance landscape has noticeably changed this year – we’re seeing more targeted sanctions, and in response we’re seeing an ever-evolving shift of circumvention tactics, from an ever growing dark fleet that is looking more and more dangerous by the day. And the politics are also shifting. Much of Donald Trump’s sanctions strategy remains unclear, and on past experience, unpredictable. It’s a fair bet that Tehran can expect to be under more pressure post January 20 next year. But what happens with Russia – that’s the big question. And what does that mean for the rest of shipping that has been left to navigate its way around not just an increasingly hefty compliance burden, but what is essentially a tiered trading system where one part of the industry is jumping through hoops to apply regulation and decarbonise and pay for carbon burned… While another section sails without basic adherence to safety regulations, no insurance, no legitimate flag – they are outside of the rules based order and they are earning a premium for it. So when Lloyd’s List hosted its annual Outlook Forum in London earlier this month, this was the context to our discussions around sanctions risk and compliance. If you haven’t already listened to the previous edition of the podcast where we brought you highlights of the first panel from our outlook event, then now would be a good time to hit pause and go back to listen to that one first. For the rest of you though, this is the second and final part of our edited highlight series that you’re going to be listening to today. Joining Richard on the panel were: Michelle Linderman, partner, Van Bael & Bellis Daniel Martin, partner, HFW Michelle Wiese Bockmann, principal analyst, Lloyd’s List Bridget Diakun, maritime risk analyst, Lloyd’s List