Many shipowners said geopolitical conflicts had led to higher ship profits while creating obstacles for shipping companies to build crews and make medium- and long-term investments.
Shipping rates have soared across sectors as Iran has taken control of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of its war with Israel and the United States on February 28, limiting maritime traffic through the choke point to 90% below the pre-war level and prompting consumers to look for goods elsewhere, often in longer shipments.
The price rise came after multiple geopolitical events, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israeli-Houthi conflict over Gaza, which led to shipping disruptions and generated more demand for tons in recent years.
Geopolitics could be positive for shipping markets although shipowners must prioritize crew safety, said Andy Dassey, chief executive of JPMorgan Asset Management’s global transportation group, the US bank’s ship ownership vehicle.
“It’s a bit of a paradox,” Dassi told the Greece Merchant Shipowners Forum in Posidonia. “In the next 12 months we will be in very good shape.
“Our goal is to do this safely…to support the world in meeting what it needs.”
After jumping from $170,409 per day on February 27 to $401,138 per day on March 4, the Platts Global Dirty Tanker Index for eco-vessels equipped with scrubbers remained at a strong level of $221,657 per day on May 29.
The Platts global dry bulk index for non-scrubber vessels surpassed US$32,000 per day in May for the first time since its launch in November 2023. It was last assessed at US$35,807 per day on 29 May.
The Platts Container Index, a weighted average of major container routes, has risen about 112% or $2,384/FEU since August 1, 2025, reaching a 10-month high of $4,512.7/FEU on June 1.
Platts is part of S&P Global Energy.
Caveats
Harry Vafias, CEO of Fafias Group, one of the largest Greek shipowners, said geopolitics “obviously helps shipping markets” but makes investment decisions such as purchasing ships more difficult.
“You can’t make any decisions (longer than) midterm, just day by day,” Favias said.
The difficulty stems from market uncertainty as geopolitical conflicts and shipping rates could eventually be resolved, but the timing is difficult to gauge, according to an executive.
“If you look at past shipping markets, they never go in one direction,” Favias said. “What if the war finally ended, there would be fewer miles, fewer penalties, and hundreds of newly built ships entering the market?”
The global order book stands at 21% of the existing fleet, with a record 60 million gross compensated tons due to be delivered from shipyards in 2027, according to shipbroker Clarksons.
“Sooner or later the party is going to end; the million-dollar question is when,” Favias said.
Takeshi Hashimoto, president of Japanese shipping group Mitsui OSK Lines, said the Hormuz outage creates an “operational nightmare” with some of its tankers still stuck in the Persian Gulf, but “the overall outcome is a little better.”
“I’m relatively optimistic” about shipping markets, Hashimoto said. However, the increased capacity of Chinese shipyards as some shipyards return after years of inactivity could lead to more newbuild orders and create surplus ship supplies in the future, he added.
source: Platts
