Trendwatch: Hormuz attacks against commercial shipping reach record highs; Port of Antwerp-Bruges sees strong recovery in container throughput in volatile trading environment; Exports fuel 4.5% boost to China's GDP in Q3
Hormuz attacks against commercial shipping reach record highs
Reported attacks on shipping through Strait of Hormuz have reached record highs in October, as Iran has continued to fight for control of the vital waterway.
U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) identified attacks against 12 vessels in and around the strait between October 5 and 11, the most ever tracked by the agency in the area in a single week. Six of those vessels were hit on October 11, marking a single-day high.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges sees strong recovery in container throughput in volatile trading environment
In the first nine months of 2026, Port of Antwerp-Bruges handled 200.9 million tonnes of goods, 0.8% less than in the same period last year. After a first half of the year marked by consecutive operational disruptions, container throughput recovered strongly: the third quarter was the best since late 2020. At the same time, geopolitical tensions, trade barriers, and the weak European manufacturing industry continue to weigh on various cargo flows.
China's GDP grew by 4.5% year-over-year between July and September, helped by a boom in exports brought on by demand for artificial intelligence technology.
The Guardian reports that the 4.5% growth in GDP for the third quarter came in ahead of the 4.3% rate that had been forecast by economists. Additionally, China's GDP expanded by 4.6% in the first nine months of the year, putting it on track for its full-year target of 4.5%-5%.
Schiphol Airport registered a 7.6% increase in cargo volumes to 127,750 tonnes in September, while its Belgian counterpart, Brussels Airport, also registered an increase.
At Schiphol, exports saw a significant surge, rising by 12.5% to nearly 62,000 tonnes. This growth was primarily driven by traffic bound for Africa, the Far East, and destinations within Europe.
Electronic Bill of Lading adoption grows as focus shifts to interoperability
Joint statement on the results of the 2026 global survey on electronic Bills of Lading (eBL) by the FIT Alliance, co-founded by ICC, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift). Conducted in partnership with Shanghai Maritime University and the Digital Supply Chain Institute (DSCI), the survey finds that the majority of respondents now use eBLs in some capacity and identifies interoperability as the defining challenge of the next phase of adoption.
Trans-Pacific facing new booking risks as reliability sinks
Shippers moving cargo from Asia to North America face tighter vessel capacity and greater difficulty securing bookings in the weeks ahead, while deteriorating service reliability threatens delivery schedules across major east-west trades, according to WiseTech Global’s October Ocean Freight Risk Outlook.
Capacity remains comparatively plentiful on Asia-Europe and Europe-North America routes, but available slots do not necessarily translate into on-time arrivals. On the trans-Pacific, reduced planned carrier capacity is expected to compound already weak service performance.
A flurry of new vessel orders by MSC and HMM has sent the container ship orderbook to new highs as demolition rates remain at basement levels.
A further 28 container ships of more than 13,000 teu have boosted the post-2009 orderbook to a new high of 16.2m teu, 46.5% of the current fleet.
An order for 20 ships of 24,000 teu by MSC at Hengli Heavy Industries in Dalian has taken the company’s orderbook for ships over 20,000 teu to 62 vessels.
Northern Sea Route Transits Surpass 2025 Total as Arctic Shipping Gains Momentum
The number of commercial transit voyages through Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR) surpassed the full-year 2025 total by the end of September, putting Arctic shipping on course for another record season.
The Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL) identified 104 confirmed transit voyages through Sept. 30, compared with 103 during the entire 2025 navigation season and 97 in 2024. Estimated transit cargo reached 3.7 million metric tons, up 15% from 3.2 million tons for all of 2025.
South Africa must prepare for potential loss of US trade benefits, president says
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the country must prepare for its potential exclusion from the United States' duty-free trade initiative, AGOA, as relations between Washington and Pretoria have soured.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) gives eligible African countries duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products. South Africa has benefited from it for years.
