Transport Reviews

Geopolitics and Changing Trade Landscapes: Impact and Insights on Maritime Transport

Maritime transport is the backbone of global trade, carrying over 80% of world cargo by volume. Through the 20^th century, the industry has faced numerous geopolitical challenges, particularly conflicts between nation-states. However, the 21^st century has seen maritime trade and transport exposed to new sources of uncertainty and volatility, driven by geopolitical disruptions, deglobalization, and shifting trade policies. Examples such as tariff wars, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Israel-Gaza war, and the Red Sea crisis have highlighted the vulnerability of maritime transport to external shocks.

These disruptions have far-reaching impacts, including trade and transport diversion, reconfiguration of shipping capacity and services, changes in food supply chains, and threats to energy security, among others. Stakeholders — including shipowners, port and terminal operators, policymakers, and logistics services providers — must adapt rapidly to these challenges.

While these uncertainties present significant risks, they also offer opportunities for innovation and new policy approaches. This special issue aims to produce a collection of articles that reviews the state of the art in maritime transport management in the context of geopolitical disruptions, providing valuable insights for academics, industry practitioners, and policymakers.

Scope and Topics

We invite review articles on (but not limited to) the following topics:

• Structural changes in international trade and maritime transport due to geopolitical factors
• Impacts of geopolitical disruptions on shipping routes and networks
• Assessment of geopolitical risks and their effects on maritime operations
• Geopolitical influences on port competition and performance
• Responses of shipping companies to deglobalization and evolving trade policies
• Challenges and strategies in port and terminal development amid geopolitical uncertainties
• Dynamics of port connectivity in changing trade landscapes
• Maritime policy development under geopolitical uncertainty
• Shipping network planning and reconfiguration in response to trade diversion
• Interplay between shipping alliances and geopolitical disruptions
• Maritime transport planning for mitigating geopolitical risks
• Effects of tariffs on food supply chains and shipping logistics
• Geopolitical disruptions and their impact on energy security and shipping patterns
• Geopolitical tension impact on maritime workforce
• Countermeasures for maritime operators navigating geopolitical uncertainties
• Prospective and emerging geopolitical threats, including maritime cybersecurity
• Environmental implications of trade diversion and shipping route changes
• Humanitarian logistics and maritime transport in conflict zones
• New methodological approaches for analyzing port and shipping disruptions

Keywords

Geopolitics; Maritime transport; Transport disruption; Trade policy; Shipping networks; Port operations; Supply chain resilience

We look forward to your contributions to this important special issue.

Publicity Plans

This special issue will be promoted in collaboration with the Shipping and Trade Alliance for Research (STAR) Forum (19 November 2025, Hong Kong). Selected papers presented at the conference will be invited for submission as substantially extended versions. Submissions are also encouraged by authors who are unable to participate in the event. The call for papers will be widely disseminated to the global research and practitioner community.