Consultative Shipping Group Warns of Fragmented Maritime Trade Systems and Rising Costs
The Consultative Shipping Group, a cooperation between the maritime bodies of 18 shipping nations, issued a joint statement warning that the emergence of parallel systems threatens to create a two-tier structure in international shipping. The group noted that more than 80% of global trade is transported by sea, and that without maritime trade, global supply chains would fragment and the global economy would come to a sudden halt. Maritime supply chains have faced repeated disruptions from events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, drought in the Panama Canal, and the U.S.-Iran war. Conflict in the Middle East has created a major bottleneck in global shipping this year due to blockades and fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz, causing prices of oil and other commodities to surge. The Consultative Shipping Group warned that discriminatory trade measures and an unregulated shadow fleet of hundreds of ships operating outside of standard insurance, safety, and transparency frameworks are further fragmenting global supply chains. The group called on maritime nations to actively support and uphold the core principles governing shipping and to enforce existing international rules across jurisdictions.