The ICS Maritime Barometer Report 2025-2026 features insights from a record number of industry leaders, offering a comprehensive overview of how this resilient sector is evolving to maintain world trade in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment. A clear theme runs throughout the findings: geopolitical instability continues to act as an underlying force shaping both the risks faced by the industry and the conditions under which it is transitioning.
Rather than a standalone concern, political instability is increasingly seen as a risk multiplier, influencing a broad range of challenges across a time of extreme market turbulence and volatility. Its impacts are reflected not only in elevated concerns around cybersecurity (the second highest risk) and the growing prominence of unilateral and regional regulation and the related administrative burden (third highest risk), but also in rising barriers to trade and shifting patterns of global commerce.
Together, these dynamics point to a more fragmented and less predictable operating environment for shipping. This Barometer outlines pain points that can be addressed to ensure that the most effective means of global trade can secure the practical, political and financial support it needs to meet future expectations.
The Barometer also highlights how external pressures are shaping the industry’s green transition. Regulation, public funding, and market-based measures emerge as the most influential factors, underscoring the extent to which progress is dependent on the interaction between policy frameworks, financial support, and economic incentives. At the same time, constraints around funding availability and regulatory divergence continue to present challenges, reinforcing the complexity of delivering change at scale.
This uncertain environment is clearly reflected in sentiment around future fuels. Liquified natural gas (LNG) and biofuels are jointly identified as the most viable options, followed closely by heavy fuel oil (HFO) combined with abatement technologies. Rather than signalling a rapid shift towards new solutions, these results point to a more pragmatic approach. Respondents are prioritising fuels with established supply chains, proven technologies, and compatibility with existing infrastructure, reflecting a broader preference for certainty and reliability in decision-making.
Other fuel pathways remain under active consideration, but face ongoing challenges related to cost, scalability, and infrastructure. As a result, the transition is expected to follow a more measured trajectory, shaped by both ambition and practical constraints unless there is sufficient global support in the near future.
A dedicated section examined industry responses to the delayed discussions of the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework (NZF), which remains under negotiation following the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 84. While the majority of respondents indicated that they were making no changes to their plans (a cohort which also encompasses organisations whose plans were to wait for the regulation to pass before picking a direction), it is worth noting that some have indicated that they have amended or abandoned their decarbonisation strategies in response to the delayed regulation.
Overall, the Barometer presents an industry navigating a period of sustained volatility with a focus on resilience, adaptability, and practical decision-making, with actors taking an increasingly pragmatic approach to their operations. Leaders are balancing immediate operational pressures with longer-term strategic objectives, adopting approaches that reflect both the scale of the challenge and the realities of the operating environment.
Download the report: ICS-Barometer-2025-2026-full-report-v10-compressed.pdf