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Editorial illustration of an oil tanker beneath layered, changing flags, symbolizing uncertain ownership, registration and maritime identity

Analysis

False flags, “phantom” registries and the shadow fleet evading sanctions

The new architecture of maritime illegality: 1,942 shadow-fleet tankers and gas carriers, 57% of sanctioned tonnage with false or unknown flags, and continuous registry changes undermining enforcement, safety, insurance and environmental protection

02/09/2026

Sea

Bulk carrier loaded with grain alongside a Black Sea export terminal, with silos, conveyors and port infrastructure in view

Maritime Industry

Black Sea dry bulk drops 42% as disruption deepens

01/09/2026

Hand-drawn editorial illustration of a loaded container ship passing a quay while several unfinished vessels emerge as pencil sketches behind it

Market

Container shipping pricing power trailed the market. COSCO doubled down

01/09/2026

Editorial illustration of a Capesize bulk carrier crossing an ocean as calendar markings emerge across its wake, symbolizing voyage time

Market

Capesize capacity: the orderbook counts ships, geography counts time

25/08/2026

Security

Editorial illustration of a distant vessel above a scarred seabed, suggesting deliberate selection among vulnerable submarine cable routes

When the adversary chooses the failure

27/08/2026

Erdoğan, Mohammed bin Salman and Sharif holding signed copies of the Mecca Pact in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

The Mecca Pact meets the Hellenic triangle, and both want Cairo

17/08/2026

Masked militants in desert camouflage sit armed with rifles in a rocky landscape, identified as a Baloch Liberation Army unit labeled “Fateh Squad”

The Baloch insurgency has mutated — and Pakistan is struggling to keep up

02/04/2026

Land

Aerial view of a green-covered cargo barge exiting a concrete lock chamber on the Pinglu Canal near Qinzhou, in Guangxi, southern China

Supply Chain

Beibu Gulf Port buys its way into a liner company, weeks before the canal opens

14/08/2026

Panoramic view of Piraeus Port with a COSCO SHIPPING vessel in the foreground, container cranes, harbor infrastructure, and cityscape behind

Port2Port

COSCO’s Piraeus decade: a success story entering a different geopolitical age

12/08/2026

Aerial view of the Port of Dar es Salaam showing container terminals, gantry cranes, cargo vessels, trucks and stacked containers, highlighting Tanzania's expanding logistics infrastructure and its growing role in regional maritime trade

Port2Port

The Strait of Hormuz reopens. Africa wants to keep the ships

11/07/2026

Energy

Two melting clocks in a sparse desert landscape, one more solid and one dripping black oil, representing contrasting oil strategies and timelines

Two clocks, one cartel: The UAE OPEC exit and the Sunni Gulf’s real fault line

02/05/2026

Aerial view of solar farm in Tengger Desert, Ningxia, China, November 2024

The war for oil in a world that is leaving it behind

06/03/2026

Expansive petrochemical refinery complex in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, featuring tall distillation columns, cranes, dense pipelines, and heavy industrial structures

Global oil at risk—and China feels the pressure first

03/03/2026

Geopolitics

Editorial illustration showing a renminbi pipeline running toward Frankfurt and Deutsche Bank, with a central valve topped by a dollar sign

Politics & Economy

Europe’s first non-Chinese renminbi clearing bank arrives in Frankfurt, and the dollar still sets the limits

13/08/2026

Wide aerial view of a calm Mediterranean seascape with a solitary cargo vessel and subtle geometric maritime route overlays

Geopolitics

The Eastern Mediterranean’s new map: the corridors are slow, the claims are not

21/05/2026

Editorial-style sketch illustration of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping shaking hands in muted GeoTrends-inspired blue and rust tones

World Affairs

Thucydides’ Trap and why trade fuels U.S.–China rivalry

15/05/2026

Interview

Portrait of Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute and expert on Iranian politics

From micromanager to collective rule: Ali Alfoneh on Iran after Khamenei

22/08/2026

Professor Roxana Nicknami, University of Tehran, photographed in a modern office during her interview on Iran, international law, deterrence, and regional security

Iranian scholar Roxana Nicknami on why international law and deterrence will shape the next Iran crisis

02/08/2026

Studio portrait of Professor Wang Dong wearing a dark blue suit and tie against a black background, looking directly at the camera with a composed and professional expression

From strategic competition to strategic stability: Wang Dong on China’s emerging global vision

20/06/2026

Portrait of Dr. Foad Izadi seated at a desk during an interview, wearing a navy blazer and white shirt in a professional office setting

Dr. Foad Izadi: “Iran’s next deterrent is the Strait of Hormuz”

28/06/2026

GeoTrends Analysis

Editorial collage of COSCO Shipping Ports’ Mediterranean network, featuring Piraeus, Suez, Vado Ligure, Kumport, Bilbao and Valencia terminals

COSCO’s Mediterranean chessboard: where it wins and loses in the new container geography

30/08/2026

From Piraeus and Suez to Spain, Türkiye and Vado Ligure, COSCO’s Mediterranean portfolio reveals a deeper shift: competitive advantage increasingly lies not in one dominant hub, but in network optionality

Editorial illustration blending global market data and trade networks into a chessboard with opposing pieces on a muted cream background

When power prevails over economics

09/08/2026

Economic interdependence was supposed to restrain geopolitical rivalry. Instead, power is reshaping globalization, turning trade, technology, infrastructure, and supply chains into instruments of strategic competition

EDITORIAL

Beyond Borders