Drawing on market data from the week ending 12 June 2026, the structural tightening driving Ultramax & Handysize freight markets higher is becoming increasingly visible as shrinking vessel availability and resilient cargo demand continue to strengthen owners’ negotiating power across key global trading basins
The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are accelerating a historic redistribution of power, ensuring that the world emerging from these conflicts will look nothing like the one we know today
Shipping companies, insurers and energy traders are already changing operational behaviour as Middle East tensions disrupt routes, tighten insurance conditions and increase costs across the global maritime system, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea
