The potential for the U.S. to implement a port fee based on a ship’s status of ownership, flagging, or even construction being in China has been one of the standout moments of 2025. Companies: Rubico Inc., Top Ships , Pelagic Partners , MareVia

This year has been an exciting and confusing one for shipping. The industry has had to navigate various themes — some continuations of previous years, some reversals, and others entirely new, such as changing global leadership and regulations. Companies: ZIM, ADNOC, KNOT Offshore Partners , Knutsen NYK Oil Tankers, Alterra Shuttle Tankers

While equity capital markets may be re-opening, the bond market has remained a dominant source of capital for shipowners this year. While much of the Nordic bond narrative is already known, there have been a few subtle developments that have made this year just a little bit different.

Among several recent deals illustrating this trend, one of the most notable comes from shipping and capital markets pioneer Peter Georgiopoulos, who has filed to launch a new Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)—or “blank check company”—in partnership with Jefferies. Companies: Peter Georgiopoulos, Jefferies, Navios Maritime, Star Bulk , General Purpose Acquisition Corp. Services LLC, United Overseas Group , Gener8 Maritime , Maritime Equity Partners, Genco Shipping & Trading , General Purpose Acquisition Corp. (GPACU), GPAC, GPACW, Stellar V Capital Corp, Prokopios Tsirigakis , George Syllantavos

It turned out to be a great day to hold Marine Money Korea on 30th October 2025. The day before, the U.S. and Korea had signed a $350 billion trade agreement, $150 billion of which was earmarked for maritime investment.

This week we received Dealogic’s “Marine Finance Rankings Syndicated Loans—Third Quarter 2025,” which reveals some interesting trends in the ship lending/financing market.

The final data point in this wave of activity comes from the world of private equity. Institutional investors are expanding their focus beyond ships to the infrastructure and asset-backed ecosystems that enable maritime trade. Companies: KKR, Galaxy Container Solutions, Stonepeak, Textainer , Seapeak , Teekay LNG

After a period of subdued activity, equity capital markets (ECM) for shipping are showing strong signs of revival.

In other corners of the maritime industry trends are converging as well, bringing together an increasingly popular funding strategy and sector momentum. Companies: Contships, Scorpio, Performance Shipping, Navios, International Seaways, Kinetics LNG Holding Limited , Karpowership, AmFELS Yard , Seatrium, Pareto Securities, Fearnley Securities , Ocean Yield , KKR, CapeOmega, Apollo HavEnergy, Basalt Infrastructure Partners’, Celsius Shipping

Perhaps another big change in the Nordic bond market this year has been the emergence of new borrowers—in particular, Greek shipowners. Companies: Contships, Performance Shipping, Navios South American Logistics, Navios Maritime Partners, Arctic Securities, Fearnley Securities, SEB, Crédit Agricole, S. Goldman Advisors, National Bank of Greece , BNP Paribas , KfW IPEX-Bank, Hellenic Bank

Another encouraging signal from the ECM front is Tor Olav Trøim’s sponsored company Bruton Limited. Companies: Tor Olav Trøim, Bruton Limited, Andes Tankers II, Euronext Growth Oslo, Koch Shipping, Clarksons Securities AS , ABG Sundal Collier, Arctic Securities, DNB, Carnegie, Fearnley Securities , Ro Sommernes

The recent transaction history within the shipping industry has featured more “take-privates” than it has IPOs, and even with impressive share price gains across every sector within the past five years of the COVID-era super cycle, follow-on offerings too have been few and far between. Companies: Diana Shipping, B. Dyson Capital Advisors, Genco Shipping & Trading