ICS Maritime’s 2022-2023 Barometer Report, a survey of more than 130 C-Suite shipping industry executives, revealed that political instability, financial risk, cyber-attacks, and how proposed new decarbonization laws would affect the industry were top concerns facing maritime leaders.
The rise in political risk, largely due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine; rising energy and food prices; tensions in the South China Sea; and instability in South Asia were noted as factors affecting the heightened feeling of risk, due their potential direct impacts on ships and shipping and indirect impacts on demand.
As the industry increasingly adopts digital tools, the threat of cyber-attacks remained a prominent concern within the report. Regarding decarbonization, the report showed that GHG reduction regulations, and how that will affect operations, continues to be the biggest concern.
A key takeaway from this year’s report is that although some risks hold the potential to have a serious impact on operations, maritime leaders have high confidence in the industry’s abilities to manage these situations.