Governments have this week pledged to speed up efforts to get hundreds of thousands of stranded merchant sailors home, but this comes after months of similar rhetoric and limited action. So can we expect things to change? International Maritime Organization secretary-general Kitack Lim — our guest on this week’s podcast — says yes. We are, he argues, in a wartime situation with the pandemic. Government responses have required time to heat up, but they are have now reached boiling point and the recent pledges are more than just promises

Using the forum of a virtual summit, shipping leaders are starting to realise that they must act in concert and bring more pressure to bear on governments if they are to get seafarers to and from their destinations in anything like normal timescales

The second quarter of 2020 will be one of the worst ever for container shipping in terms of volume, yet box lines remain relatively healthy compared to others in the industry. Meanwhile, despite a recent improvement, the dry bulk market is still volatile

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The four vessels have turned off their identification systems since May and their whereabouts are unknown, but it is unclear how they might be seized unless they enter US territorial waters

Container volumes are unlikely to return to normal levels before the end of this year, according to market analysts, while the short-term outlook for tanker earnings may still be positive despite market sentiment souring in recent weeks