By Pete Nichols
After several years of disruption, many expected 2025 to be the year global shipping finally settled into a new rhythm. Instead, the past twelve months have delivered a fresh mix of geopolitical tension, regulatory pressure, digital transformation and uneven trade demand – all reshaping how cargo moves around the world.
At DKT Allseas, representing leading carriers across multiple trade lanes, we see these shifts first-hand. While disruption remains a constant, so does opportunity for shippers who stay close to the market and work with partners able to navigate rapidly changing conditions.
Below are the five biggest forces shaping global shipping in 2025, and what they mean for businesses moving goods internationally.
The Red Sea effect: longer routes, higher costs, more uncertainty
Instability in the Red Sea continues to force carriers to divert vessels via the Cape of Good Hope. What began as a short-term workaround has become a structural reality, adding significant sailing time and fuel consumption to east–west services.
The consequences are clear:
- Longer transit times on Asia–Europe and India–Europe routes
- Ongoing schedule variability as rotations are adjusted
- Fuel-linked surcharges to offset higher operating costs
- Reduced predictability for UK importers and exporters
For customers trading between the UK, India and the Middle East, this has been one of the most persistent planning challenges of the year. Our focus has been proactive communication — sharing schedule changes early and helping customers build flexibility into production, inventory and delivery timelines.
Oversupply meets soft demand
New tonnage ordered during the pandemic is now entering service, but global demand has yet to fully recover. This imbalance has placed downward pressure on freight rates. At the same time, it has led to blank sailings, short-notice rotation changes and selective capacity deployment as carriers attempt to manage utilisation.
For many UK shippers, availability is not the issue — consistency is. With partners across multiple regions, DKT’s role has increasingly been about providing options: alternative carriers, alternative routings and flexible service solutions when weekly schedules change at short notice.
India–UK trade momentum
Few developments in 2025 have generated as much anticipation as progress toward a UK–India Free Trade Agreement.
For DKT, this is particularly significant given our long-standing partnership with the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and our deep involvement in India–Europe trade. The agreement is expected to streamline documentation, reduce duties and accelerate already strong bilateral growth.
We are already seeing:
- Growing UK interest in Indian manufacturing alternatives
- Increased enquiries for breakbulk and project cargo into India
- Rising demand for reliable liner connectivity to Nhava Sheva, Mundra and southern Indian ports
As UK shippers continue to diversify sourcing, India’s logistics competitiveness keeps improving. This is a trade lane where DKT is well positioned to support customers with reliable capacity and market insight.
Decarbonisation pressures and the rising cost of compliance
In 2025, sustainability has firmly moved from ambition to obligation. Tougher IMO regulations, tightening emissions targets and early steps toward global carbon pricing are now feeding directly into carrier cost bases — and, in turn, into BAFs and environmental surcharges.
Many of our principals are accelerating investment in vessel upgrades, alternative fuels and digital optimisation. These are positive developments, but they also introduce operational complexity. Planned dry-dockings, schedule adjustments and revised surcharges have become part of day-to-day shipping operations.
For customers, the priority is understanding these changes early. Transparent sustainability strategies and cost structures are now as important as rates and transit times when selecting carrier partners.
Digitalisation and security
Rapid digitalisation has been one of the industry’s most encouraging developments this year. Carriers and terminals are investing heavily in improved tracking, digital documentation and automated port communications.
However, increased digital capability also brings tighter cybersecurity requirements, additional verification steps and occasional platform downtime. While customers benefit from greater visibility and faster processes, this shift demands higher levels of data accuracy and process discipline.
Supporting customers through these transitions — helping them adapt to new systems and compliance standards — has become a growing part of our role.
Navigating 2026 and beyond
If the past year has proven anything, it is that global shipping is unlikely to return to pre-2020 predictability. Longer routings, fluctuating capacity, sustainability-driven costs and geopolitical uncertainty are now structural features of global trade.
For UK businesses, success increasingly depends on:
- Extending planning horizons within supply chains
- Staying closely informed on schedule and surcharge developments
- Maintaining routing and carrier flexibility
- Partnering with providers who offer genuine market insight, not just pricing
At DKT, our responsibility — on behalf of SCI, Bahri, Ceekay and all our principals — is to provide clarity amid complexity. Whether customers need updates, guidance or simply a sense-check on their options, our team is here to help.
