Negative to Neutral: shipping in a non-aligned world

It’s been a turbulent 12 months in the shipping markets, characterised by a great deal of nervous excitement around both trade and the global economy. And though we like to approach the year’s turn with messages of hope and optimism, caution appears to be the appropriate posture.

This doesn’t mean we should see only doom and gloom, there have been plenty of opportunities along with the volatility this year and we’ve previously advocated for trading the market not the headlines, a strategy we’ll stick to in 2026.

So, what does feel different? Well, at the risk of making predictions we’ll come to regret it’s possible that 2026 sees the temperature cool in some of the world’s flashpoints and potentially a quieter political backdrop too.

But let’s make no mistake; we are in a different world commercially speaking and not necessarily a new one. In some sense, it feels like history is repeating itself or at least rhyming.