North Bund Forum 2026 Unveils 20 Maritime Sector Achievements in Shanghai

The North Bund Forum 2026 opened in Shanghai on October 20, and during the opening ceremony 20 key achievements related to shipping were unveiled, spanning international cooperation, green transition, digital intelligence and high-end maritime services.

Of these achievements, eight correspond to government-led initiatives and twelve focus on green transition and high-end maritime services, involving international organizations, government departments, industry associations, and port and shipping companies. At the opening, China's Ministry of Transport signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on maritime capacity building, which includes the China-France Green Shipping Corridor and talent mobility. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Domínguez highlighted the importance of cooperation and the exchange of experience, while John Denholm, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), said in an interview with Xinhua Finance that his organization values the views of the China Shipowners' Association and looks forward to its greater participation in ICS committees.

Green shipping was one of the central pillars of the announced achievements, including cooperation on the China-France green corridor, its annual development report, and a green fuel certification system, aimed at supporting the sector's energy transition through international collaboration and the development of standards and services. According to the 2026 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index (ISCDI), released in July, Shanghai overtook London for the first time in overall performance, ranking second worldwide, while in 2025 the Port of Shanghai handled more than 55.06 million TEU, remaining the world's busiest container port for the sixteenth consecutive year.

As part of the forum, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange formally launched seven new components of the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), covering 20-foot container rates to East Africa, Central America and South America, and India and Pakistan, as well as 40-foot rates to Europe, the Mediterranean, South America, and Central America and South America. These indices had been operating on a pilot basis since January 2025 and May 2026, and their launch was accompanied by an updated version of the index-linked container service contract, which expands the container sizes and benchmark indices that can be used to calculate contractual payments.

The Finance and Insurance Thematic Forum of the North Bund Forum 2026 brought together around 550 professionals from the shipping, finance and insurance sectors on October 20, presenting five key outcomes in finance, insurance, risk management and maritime services, including a comprehensive risk protection initiative for smart vessels, an innovation lab for green shipping risk governance, the launch of the Shanghai Ship Valuation, and a model arbitration case between COSCO Shipping Lines and Seaspan. According to data released at the forum, China's ship leasing fleet exceeded 3,100 vessels, with assets valued at around US$178 billion as of the end of 2025, while futures on the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index for European routes had accumulated trading volume of more than 6.2 trillion yuan since their launch in August 2023.

At the main forum, organized by COSCO SHIPPING and Shanghai International Port Group and attended by more than 500 participants, Semiramis Paliou, CEO of Diana Shipping, warned of five challenges facing the dry bulk sector: geopolitical instability, rising vessel supply, shifting commodity demand, decarbonization, and the availability of skilled personnel. Paliou cited Clarksons figures showing that nearly 600 new dry bulk carriers were due for delivery in 2026, the highest annual total in a decade, and called for investment discipline, prioritizing fleet renewal and improved operational efficiency amid uncertainty over future fuels.