Sustainability, seafarers and software sum up the year for shipmanagers. While the crew change crisis has been ongoing, the drive to meet clients’ environmental obligations has become a shipmanager’s own corporate duty, and exploring new tech has risen up the agenda

The biggest rise in registrations came from Liberia, which is closing the gap with top spot holder Panama. The Liberian registry, led by Alfonso Castillero, surpassed the 200m gt mark as it grew its tanker fleet, mainly thanks to the influx of newbuildings

Maritime technology leaders range from a 40-year veteran who continues to think with a start-up mentality, to established entrepreneurs rebuilding their businesses, to innovators from outside shipping who have brought in ideas from the communications and energy sectors

PSA’s Peter Voser retains his crown at the top of the box port table after the Singaporean operator chalked up volumes on an equity-weighted basis of nearly 60m teu

Non-Britons take the top three slots in this year’s rundown, reflecting the rise of the Nordic and Chinese and the decline of Lloyd’s

The International Maritime Organization, knocked from the top spot this year, faces fundamental questions over its fitness to grapple with problems as thorny as decarbonisation

Zhao Jiong, chairman of Bocomm Leasing, remains at the top seat in the Lloyd’s List finance ranking. He has pledged to set the fast-growing bank-backed lessor on the path of green finance, with innovative products to carter for decarbonisation

The six major class societies dominate in terms of tonnage and number of vessels; they have a breadth and depth of expertise, but each has developed its specialist areas

London remains the international centre for shipping litigation, thanks to the English law settlement clauses built into many contracts

Earlier concerns that electronic trading would reduce the need for traditional shipbrokers have diminished over the years, with the leading firms evolving into diversified businesses offering a wide range of maritime services, while still recognising the need for personal contact with their customers