Criminal gangs are threatening supply chains, according to a Maersk executive: Smugglers are hiding narcotics shipments in shipping supply chains, the Financial Times reports. Cocaine shipments to the EU have spiked in recent years, reaching a record 303 mn tonnes, according to numbers from the EU’s drug monitoring agency EMCDDA, cited by the FT. “The way that these people are infiltrating the whole supply chain, not only the shipping side or the port side, is rather extreme,” CEO of AP Moller Maersk subsidiary APM Terminals Keith Svendsen told the FT.

Solutions come with costs: The European Commission is looking to propose new measures to tackle the issue, according to a draft communication picked up by FT, but most of these come with added costs to shippers. Proposals center around additional screening and monitoring of international shipments; however, tighter controls will have knock-on effects on global shipping as companies suffer higher costs and delays due to more stringent checks.

Decarbonization of the shipping industry will drive up consumer inflation: Steps to decarbonize the global shipping industry will incur additional costs on consumers, according to industry leader statements cited by a CNBC report. “There will be an inflationary impact coming from [the] decarbonization of shipping … there is no question of it,” Global Shipping Business Network CEO Bertrand Chen said at an event hosted by CNBC.

Already happening? The EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) will begin being applied to shipping beginning in January 2024, CNBC said. The regime will see charges levied on carriers operating in the EU in accordance with their C02 emissions, costs which they plan to transfer down the line in the form of surcharges to clients.

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