Eighteen shipping nations warn of structural shift in maritime trade

Eighteen nations issue warning on structural shift in maritime trade#

On 9 September 2026, eighteen major shipping nations released a joint statement warning that conflicts at chokepoints, the growth of shadow fleets and discriminatory trade measures represent a structural shift in how global maritime trade operates. The Consultative Shipping Group published the statement, titled In Defence of Free Shipping, through Denmark's maritime authority. Member countries include Greece, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Norway, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. Together these nations account for more than a fifth of global trade measured by tonnage. The group stated that shipping routes are now increasingly deployed as instruments of leverage and risk rather than neutral conduits for commerce.

Shadow fleet expansion creates parallel maritime systems#

The Consultative Shipping Group stated that hundreds of vessels currently operate beyond conventional insurance, safety and transparency frameworks, establishing parallel maritime systems that circumvent environmental and safety standards. The group described this development as producing a two-tier system, with one tier governed by rules and the other by opacity, a structure that ultimately weakens both. Industry estimates cited in the evidence place the wider shadow tanker fleet at more than 1,500 vessels. The statement argued that the solution lies in consistent enforcement of existing international rules across jurisdictions rather than creating additional regulatory layers or relying on unilateral actions by individual states.

Group calls for alignment under existing international frameworks#

The Consultative Shipping Group identified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, including rights of innocent and transit passage, as the comprehensive legal framework governing activities at sea. The statement described the International Maritime Organization as the central global forum responsible for developing standards that maintain navigation, safety, security and fair competition. The group argued that better alignment of existing international rules, rather than the creation of new ones, represents the appropriate response to current challenges. It called for cooperation between maritime nations, consistent enforcement across jurisdictions, improved information exchange and sustained political backing for multilateral institutions.

Diverging approaches fragment markets and raise costs#

The group stated that uncertainty over future access to ports or routes affects long-term commercial planning by shipping companies. When countries pursue diverging approaches or when regional initiatives and stalled multilateral processes weaken system coherence, the result is fragmentation in rules that leads directly to fragmentation in markets, the statement said. This fragmentation ultimately raises costs for businesses and consumers. The Consultative Shipping Group's membership includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. These countries represent around 20 per cent of global deadweight tonnage. The group was established in the 1960s as an informal forum for discussion and coordination of maritime policy issues.