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European shipping operators are confronting their toughest cost environment in a generation, as the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz compounds the final phase-in of the EU Emissions Trading System. Bunker fuel prices in Singapore, the industry's largest refuelling hub, have climbed above $800 per tonne, up from roughly $500 before Iran shut the strait on 4 March, according to commodity site OilPrice. The European Federation for Transport and Environment estimated the

Maersk has warned that the war in Iran is adding nearly $500 million a month to its fuel bill, exposing the depth of European shipping's exposure to an energy shock that the Danish carrier said will persist long after any ceasefire is struck. The Copenhagen-listed group, widely regarded as a bellwether for global trade, reported first-quarter EBITDA of $1.75 billion last week, ahead of analyst expectations of $1.66 billion. Revenue slipped 2.6 per cent year on year to $13 bil

Mediterranean Shipping Company has launched a new Europe to Red Sea container service designed to keep European cargo flowing to Gulf markets without transit through the Strait of Hormuz, in the clearest sign yet that liner operators are rewiring their networks around the Iranian chokepoint. The first vessel on the Europe, Red Sea and Middle East Express sailed from Antwerp on 10 May under voyage OC619 A, the Geneva-based carrier confirmed. The eastbound rotation calls at Gda

Rheinmetall and MSC have confirmed talks to jointly take over Mangalia, the bankrupt Black Sea shipyard, in a deal that would marry German defence ambitions with the world's largest container line and create a dual-use production hub on Europe's eastern flank. The Düsseldorf-based group said it was considering substantial investment alongside the Swiss carrier to upgrade the site into a dual-use facility for both military and civilian shipbuilding. Under bankruptcy rules, the

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has launched a dedicated Europe-Red Sea-Middle East express service designed to keep cargo moving between European exporters and Gulf customers as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut to commercial traffic. The world's largest container carrier, headquartered in Geneva, will sail its first vessel from Antwerp on 10 May, with a single-direction rotation calling at Gdansk, Klaipeda, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Valencia, Barcelona and Gioia

Belgian gas shipping group Exmar is on the cusp of taking delivery of the world's first ocean-going ammonia dual-fuel vessels, a milestone that places European operators at the vanguard of maritime decarbonisation just as the EU's emissions trading regime reaches full force. The 46,000 cubic metre mid-size gas carriers Antwerpen and Arlon, named after the Belgian cities and built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries at its Ulsan yard in South Korea, are scheduled for handover in la

Brussels, 28 April. The EU has tightened its sanctions regime against Russia's so-called shadow fleet to a record 632 vessels but stopped short of a long-anticipated ban on maritime services for Russian crude, after pushback from member states with significant shipping economies including Greece and Malta. The 20th sanctions package, formally adopted by the Council of the EU on 23 April, designates 46 additional tankers tied to the shadow fleet and introduces mandatory due di

European shipowners enter a pivotal week for global climate policy on Monday, when the International Maritime Organization convenes MEPC 84 in London to reopen stalled talks on the Net-Zero Framework. A coalition representing roughly half the world's merchant fleet, including leading European shipowner associations, the three largest open registries and major classification societies, has issued a joint statement urging delegates to build consensus on a binding carbon pricing

Europe's largest container lines are preparing for an extended detour around the Cape of Good Hope, after fresh incidents in the Strait of Hormuz undermined declarations from Washington and Tehran that the waterway is open to commercial traffic. AP Moller-Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM, which together move the bulk of Asia-Europe container trade, have maintained the Trans-Suez suspensions first imposed after US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. Xeneta data shows

Commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz ground to a halt on Sunday, just 48 hours after Iran's foreign minister declared the waterway reopened, leaving Europe's biggest container lines and tanker operators weighing whether to risk the passage. Observed crossings fell to zero on 19 April, according to Bloomberg ship-tracking data, after at least 13 oil tankers turned back toward the Persian Gulf on Saturday amid reports of gunfire and fresh warnings from Tehran. The re

The China-Europe rail corridor has staged a sharp recovery in early 2026, as shipping disruptions in the Middle East and rising ocean freight rates push European importers back toward overland freight and drive up the cost of moving goods by train. China State Railway Group recorded 3,501 freight train trips on the China-Europe route in January and February, a 31.7 per cent increase year on year, with cargo volumes rising 25.2 per cent to 352,100 TEU. The figures reverse a di

European shipping executives are confronting a compounding crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, with no clear resolution in sight and costs mounting across every major trade lane connecting the continent to the Gulf. The strait has been effectively closed to commercial traffic since late February, when US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered retaliatory IRGC attacks on merchant vessels and the laying of sea mines across key shipping channels. For the first time in modern history,