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Image Line Communications Ltd, Unit 228 Stratford Workshops, Burford Road, London (2026)

11/09/2026

Image Line weekly news update: maritime, ports and logistics | 7–11 September

From the Strait of Hormuz to India’s rail network, here are five developments that caught our attention this week.

➡️Security remains at the top of the maritime agenda

Last week, we reported from SMM Hamburg on the industry’s growing focus on security and resilience. Events since then have shown why.
Further attacks have affected commercial vessels, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely reduced. By 10 September, the IMO had recorded 75 confirmed incidents and 22 seafarer fatalities across the region.
This is affecting crews, routes, capacity, insurance and commercial decisions in real time.

➡️ EU carbon obligations are increasing

Shipping companies covered by the EU Emissions Trading System have until 30 September to surrender allowances covering 70% of their verified 2025 emissions, up from 40% in the first compliance cycle.
Next year, companies will have to surrender allowances covering 100% of their 2026 emissions. Methane and nitrous oxide are also now included. Although this is an EU regime, it applies to ships of any flag calling at EEA ports.

Carbon costs are becoming a bigger factor in fuel, chartering and route decisions.

➡️ UK port figures tell a mixed story

Major-port tonnage fell by 5% year on year in the second quarter, but container tonnage increased by 9%. London stood out, with container tonnage reaching a record six million tonnes.
It is a useful reminder that the headline figure does not always show where growth, demand and pressure are emerging.

➡️ India’s freight corridors are nearing capacity

India’s Dedicated Freight Corridors handled an average of 438 trains a day in August, nearly 15% more than a year earlier and around 91% of their combined capacity.
They account for only a small part of the country’s rail network but now carry more than 14% of its rail freight. A new connection to Jawaharlal Nehru Port is also improving access between the port and northern industrial centres.
It is an impressive result and a strong argument for further investment.

➡️ Road freight is feeling the pressure

The average price of on-highway diesel in the US reached $5.967 per gallon on 9 September, more than $2 higher than a year ago. Truckload rejection rates have also risen as the market approaches its peak season, indicating that available capacity is beginning to tighten.
For manufacturers and retailers, the combination of higher fuel costs, tighter capacity and peak-season surcharges could quickly feed through to transport budgets.

Those are some of the developments that stood out to us this week.
What is having the greatest impact on your part of the industry?

Photo credit: IMO

09/09/2026

Getting media coverage is one thing. Knowing what to do with it afterwards is another.

🟢 After an August break, The Communications Angle is back, and in our latest episode, our colleague Vy Le explores: How can organisations make the most of media coverage?

A strong piece of earned coverage shouldn't be shared just once and then forgotten.

Used strategically, it can reinforce key messages, support thought leadership, give sales teams credible third-party validation and provide material for social content, newsletters and wider stakeholder communications.

✔️ Making coverage work harder means understanding why the coverage counted in the first place: which messages resonated, who needs to see them next and how that credibility can support the wider communications strategy.

▶️ Watch Vy’s latest episode of The Communications Angle.

➡️ For more episodes and communications insights, visit the Image Line YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com//shorts

And we are only just getting started again. More episodes are on the way.

04/09/2026

Image Line weekly news update: maritime, ports and logistics

➡️After four days at SMM Hamburg this week, Image Line Managing Director Sue Terpilowski OBE saw one theme rise above the rest: security and resilience are moving to the centre of the maritime agenda, alongside decarbonisation rather than behind it. Geopolitical uncertainty is pushing supply chain resilience, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection into conversations that were purely about net zero a year ago.

➡️At SMM’s inaugural China-Europe Maritime Summit, shipbuilders and shipowners called for closer cooperation on alternative fuels, vessel development and digitalisation. China accounts for around 70% of the global shipbuilding orderbook; European owners operate more than a third of world fleet capacity.

➡️In London, more than 1,000 delegates registered for the IMO’s ISWG-GHG 22, which wrapped up this week after working through the Net-Zero Framework’s implementation guidelines and lifecycle greenhouse-gas assessment. It’s the key staging post before MEPC 85 later this year, so expect more clarity on where this week’s talks landed in the days ahead.

➡️DP World named the DP World London, a 1,250-TEU vessel able to run on methanol or conventional fuel, for its Northern European routes this week, another sign of lower-emission investment moving from pledge to fleet.

➡️And a reminder that resilience isn’t theoretical: the Cristo Redentor border closure between Argentina and Chile, rail congestion in Italy, and continued capacity pressure across North America and New Zealand are all live right now.

28/08/2026

Image Line Weekly Wrap: We’re a few days away from the end of August, and here is what caught our attention across transport and logistics this week.

➡️ Water pressure is becoming an operational issue for the Panama Canal

Reduced rainfall and the return of El Niño are putting pressure on the freshwater reservoirs used to operate the canal’s locks.

The Panama Canal Authority plans to reduce daily transits in September, while draft restrictions may also affect the amount of cargo some vessels can carry.

It is a clear example of how an environmental issue can quickly become an operational one, affecting capacity, schedules and routing.

For logistics businesses, the priority is to translate that complexity into what customers actually need to know: what may change, how they could be affected and what options remain available.

➡️ MSC is cautiously returning selected services to the Suez Canal

MSC announced on 24 August that it would partially restore Suez Canal transits on selected East–West services after reviewing security and operational conditions in the Red Sea.

The move follows the Suez Canal Authority’s report that the 17,200-TEU Bangkok Maersk transited the canal on 22 August, another indication of a gradual return by some major carriers.

What stands out is the way that return is being communicated: selectively, cautiously and without suggesting that conditions have fully normalised.

For shipping businesses operating in high-risk environments, that balance matters. Confidence needs to be communicated, but so do the limits of certainty.

➡️ Global port congestion has reached a new high

More than 4.3 million TEU of container capacity was reported to be waiting to berth at ports globally this week.

The impact extends well beyond the quayside. Delays can affect vessel schedules, equipment availability, inventory planning and customer expectations throughout the supply chain.

When disruption is systemic rather than company-specific, businesses still need to be clear about what they can influence, what sits outside their control and what customers should expect next.

➡️ Hormuz risk is reshaping long-term infrastructure strategy

Gulf states are accelerating investment in alternative ports and pipelines as they look to reduce their reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.

The focus includes alternative export infrastructure through Red Sea and eastern ports, alongside pipeline routes designed to bypass one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.

This moves the conversation beyond immediate disruption. Geopolitical risk is beginning to influence long-term infrastructure decisions, with implications for supply security, investment and future trade flows.

For communicators, the challenge is to explain why resilience investment matters before disruption becomes permanent. Also, how large-scale infrastructure decisions connect to customers, investors and wider supply-chain confidence.

Across shipping, ports and logistics, the common thread this week is how organisations communicate through disruption.

Clear communication cannot remove operational uncertainty, but it can help businesses maintain trust, manage expectations and give stakeholders a clearer understanding of what comes next.

Sources and further reading are included in the first comment.

📍If you’re attending SMM next week, we’d be pleased to catch up and continue the conversation in person. 🤝

Photo of Panama Canal / Photo credit: Pexels

26/08/2026

Did you know container ships may be reaching the practical limits of how big they can get?

The MSC Irina can carry 24,346 TEU and stretches almost 400 metres, which is equivalent to roughly four football pitches end to end.

But here’s the interesting part!

Many of today’s ultra-large container ships have around that same 400-metre length. The reason isn't that engineers couldn’t build something bigger, but that ships have to work within an entire logistics system.

Bigger vessels can mean:
💠deeper channels and larger turning basins
💠greater crane reach and terminal capacity
💠more containers arriving at a port at once
💠increased pressure on road, rail and inland connections
💠greater consequences when disruption occurs

Even some of the newest ultra-large container ships entering service are staying around the 24,000-TEU mark, while investment increasingly focuses on fuel efficiency, lower emissions, smarter navigation and operational performance.

So perhaps the next race in container shipping won’t be about building the biggest ship.
It will be about building the smartest and most efficient one for the system around it.

Complex industries need clear communication.

At Image Line Communications, we work with organisations across maritime, logistics, transport, technology, energy and sustainability to turn specialist expertise into stories that build visibility, understanding and trust.

Photo credit: Pexels

Sources: MSC/industry vessel data; The IFAB, Laws of the Game – Law 1: The Field of Play, for international football pitch dimensions; CMA CGM, OOCL, ONE, Suez Canal Authority and OECD/ITF (International Transport Forum).

19/08/2026

What makes communication effective and trusted?

Behind every strong communications result is a series of judgement calls. That is what we explore in The Communications Angle, our short-form video series looking at the practical and strategic questions and decisions communications professionals face every day.

You can now watch the latest episodes on the Image Line YouTube channel:

➡️When should you use a press release? — Sue Terpilowski OBE, Managing Director
➡️How has the media landscape changed? — Rodney Kumar, PR Manager
➡️How can organisations get more value from one story? — Rodney Kumar
➡️How can organisations make technical stories more interesting? — Corina Stoicescu, Communications Consultant

From media relations and content strategy to communicating complex subjects clearly, each episode offers a short perspective drawn from real communications experience.

Watch The Communications Angle on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com//shorts

🚀And there is more to come. We will continue exploring the questions shaping PR and communications today.

Photo: AI-generated image using the Image Line logo asset

14/08/2026

Image Line Weekly Wrap: What caught our attention across transport and logistics?

Several developments stood out for their operational significance and their implications for businesses communicating through change.

➡️Seafarer safety and security are once again in focus.

Following a deadly attack on the cargo ship TIHAMAH off the coast of Yemen, the IMO Secretary-General condemned the attack and urged shipowners and operators to thoroughly assess risks before transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

For the maritime sector, such incidents highlight the importance of timely, clear communication on security, operational risk and the welfare of seafarers. They also show how events affecting individual vessels can have much wider implications for international shipping and global supply chains.

➡️Gatwick’s second runway has cleared another major hurdle.

Following the UK Government’s successful legal challenge, the airport’s expansion plans can now move forward.

For major infrastructure projects, the communications challenge rarely involves a single audience. Government, investors, industry partners, employees, local communities and the media all have different priorities and expectations.

Beyond communicating progress, organisations need to maintain credibility as projects move through complex regulatory, environmental and commercial stages.

➡️AI is becoming more embedded in haulage operations.

Logistics providers are expanding the use of AI-powered driver monitoring systems designed to identify fatigue and distraction in real time.

The technology may offer important safety benefits, but its introduction also raises questions around workforce engagement, data, trust and how new systems are explained internally.

For transport businesses adopting AI, successful implementation depends on the technology itself, along with how clearly its purpose, benefits and safeguards are communicated.

➡️Europe is accelerating its focus on electrification and carbon-market reform.

The European Commission has presented an Electrification Action Plan alongside proposals to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System, with transport among the sectors central to the transition. The proposed ETS changes also have implications for maritime and aviation.

For businesses operating across transport and logistics, regulatory change of this scale requires more than compliance. Organisations also need to explain what new requirements mean for investment, operations, customers and other stakeholders as the transition develops.

➡️ For us, at Image Line Communications, these stories share a common theme. As transport evolves, how change is communicated is as important as the change itself.

Clear communication can help organisations engage stakeholders, protect reputation and build confidence.

Which of these developments do you think will have the biggest influence on transport and logistics?

📷 Pexels

30/07/2026

What can carrier pigeons, Barbra Streisand and a misunderstood statistic teach us about communications?

Quite a lot, as it happens.

➡️ The Pigeon Protocol

In 1990, computer scientist David Waitzman published RFC 1149, an April Fools’ experimental proposal for transmitting internet data using carrier pigeons.

Eleven years later, the Bergen Linux User Group put the idea to the test. Nine data packets were sent by pigeon over approximately five kilometres. Only four arrived, resulting in a 55% packet-loss rate. Response times ranged from around 53 minutes to almost one hour and 47 minutes.

💡The communications lesson? A channel may be original and memorable, but it must also be reliable, appropriate for the message and suited to the intended audience.

➡️ Then there is the Streisand effect.

In 2003, Barbra Streisand filed a US$50 million lawsuit over an aerial photograph showing her Malibu home. Before the case, the image had reportedly been downloaded only six times (twice by her lawyers).
Publicity surrounding the lawsuit subsequently attracted more than 420,000 visitors to the website in a single month.

💡For reputation and crisis management, the lesson remains highly relevant: an attempt to suppress information can draw considerably more attention to it. Before responding, organisations should consider whether their actions could amplify an issue that might otherwise remain limited.

➡️ And what about the frequently repeated claim that communication is 7% words, 38% tone of voice and 55% body language?

Albert Mehrabian’s research was much narrower. It explored how people interpreted feelings and attitudes when words conflicted with vocal tone or facial expression. It was never intended as a universal formula for communication.

After all, if words accounted for only 7% of meaning, we could understand almost any film in an unfamiliar language simply by watching the actors.

💡The real lesson is about evidence and context. A statistic may be memorable and highly shareable, but that does not make it accurate when separated from the original research.

Behind each unusual story are three communications principles:

✔️Choose the right communication channels for the targeted audience.
✔️Always consider the consequences of your response.
✔️Check the evidence before repeating an appealing claim.

Humour and history can make communications lessons more memorable. Accuracy is what makes them credible.

Need communications support? Let’s talk.

23/07/2026

⚓The Seafarer Workforce Report 2026 was released last month, but the challenges it identifies require sustained attention, not a single headline.

📈 Global demand for STCW-certified seafarers has increased by 35% since 2021.

The industry is currently facing an estimated shortage of 39,100 officers, and the report projects around 22,747 additional officers will need to join the workforce every year to meet demand by 2030.

Numbers like these don't move on their own. Every organisation competing for the next generation of seafarers needs to be visible, credible and compelling to people who don't yet see maritime as a career option and that's a communications challenge as much as a training or recruitment one.

This is exactly the gap Image Line Communications works in. Since 1988, we've helped maritime, shipping and logistics organisations raise their profile, reach new audiences, and tell the story of the people and opportunities that keep global trade moving.

💬If workforce attraction and retention is on your agenda for 2026, we'd welcome the conversation. Do get in touch to talk through how strategic communications can help.

Photo credit: International Chamber of Shipping

17/07/2026

Europe’s transport electrification agenda is moving from ambition to delivery.

The European Commission’s new Electrification Action Plan and EU ETS review will increase the pressure on transport operators and infrastructure providers to accelerate decarbonisation.

For maritime, the direction is already clear. The EU ETS places a carbon cost on shipping emissions, while FuelEU Maritime will require relevant passenger and container vessels to use shore-side power or another zero-emission technology at berth in covered EU ports from 2030.

For road transport and logistics, the challenge includes delivering sufficient charging capacity for electric cars, vans, HGVs and port equipment across increasingly busy transport networks. AFIR is already driving the rollout of alternative-fuel infrastructure across Europe.

The strategic issue is no longer simply whether transport will electrify. It is whether the grid, charging infrastructure and private investment needed to support that transition can be delivered quickly enough.

For transport businesses, this creates a clear communications opportunity: move beyond broad sustainability promises and demonstrate credible projects, partnerships, investment and measurable delivery.

Image Line Communications Ltd

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