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Marine insurance and ocean biodiversity: a call to actionThe ocean is the planet’s largest ecosystem, yet it remains one of the least protected. As the High Seas Treaty enters into force, the maritime industry faces a pivotal moment: how to align shipping practices with biodiversity preservation. Marine insurers, often overlooked in this conversation, have a unique role to play in shaping the future of sustainable commerce.
On January 17, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement - better known as the High Seas Treaty - formally came into effect after reaching 60 ratifications. This milestone marks a new era in ocean governance. Much like the Paris Agreement for climate, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets a headline target: conserving 30 per cent of land, inland waters, and marine areas by 2030. 
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World shipping must now face new geopolitical and technological realities
World shipping today stands at the intersection of geopolitical upheaval and technological transformation. The industry has shown resilience, with ports worldwide posting positive tonnage figures despite tariffs and embargoes on strategic goods.
Yet beneath these numbers lies a shifting landscape shaped by a cold war dynamic between China, Russia and the West. America has taken an aggressive stance, Europe remains divided, and China speaks of peace while building arms and signalling its intent to invade Taiwan. Beijing’s defiance of the Hague Court ruling on the South China Sea, and its harassment of Philippine shipping, underscores the risks to maritime stability. Vietnam and Brunei also reject China’s claims, but the pattern of coercion remains. In response, Washington has revived the Monroe Doctrine, asserting hemispheric influence and deploying economic and military power to counter perceived threats.
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Trump to deploy commercial muscle not military might to get his way
One of the unintended consequences of the changes brought about by US President Donald Trump is that the shipping world has been forced to view global opportunities afresh. In a climate where military confrontation often dominates headlines, Trump’s approach suggests something different: a reliance on commercial leverage rather than military might to reshape international relations.
The Venezuelan raid, for example, had less to do with oil or fentanyl than with reviving the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which declared the Americas off-limits to outside powers. In many ways, this was less about tactical gains than about signalling a return to 19th-century power politics. The rules-based order associated with Neville Chamberlain has given way to a temperament more reminiscent of Winston Churchill—assertive, pragmatic, and unapologetically nationalistic.
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Deploying poverty: Why shipping must anchor in waters of frugality
Shipping is the hidden architecture of everyday life. It is the cheapest way to move goods across oceans, the backbone of inland corridors, and the quiet enabler of affordable access to food, medicine, and consumer staples.
If poverty is to be survivable rather than miserable, shipping must be placed at the centre of the system. Poverty can be deployed as a constraint - frugality as a design principle - but only if logistics deliver essentials cheaply and reliably to where people live.
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