By Wolfgang Lehmacher and Mikael Lind
In early 2025, nearly 21 million barrels of oil and products moved through the Strait of Hormuz every day, accounting for roughly a quarter of the worldwide seaborne oil trade. When missiles fly, that flow is at risk. Freight, bunker, and war-risk costs rise when disruption looms. In turn, these spikes underline how exposed shipping remains to cheap fossil fuel moving through a few chokepoints.
At the same time, a different trend is emerging. The 2025 progress report by the Global Maritime Forum and its partners lists 84 active green shipping corridor initiatives globally. This is up from 59 a year earlier. Since 2024, 25 new initiatives have been launched, engaging more than 300 organisations. Corridors now link China, India, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, and Kenya. Governments, ports, and carriers are testing lower-carbon lanes. Shipping is starting to re-wire globalisation. It moves away from a narrow dependence on fossil fuel routes and toward a more diversified, lower-carbon trade network.
South Korea has put corridors into law. The 2026 Green Shipping Corridor Support Act establishes a council and five-year plans to back corridors, aligning with the IMO’s 2050 net-zero goal. Officials stress the importance of both emissions cuts and the competitiveness of Korea’s shipyards, lines, and ports. Across the Baltic and North Seas, regional forums highlight short Nordic-Baltic routes as early, lower-risk testbeds for cleaner fuels, efficiency measures, and shore power.
The Rotterdam-Singapore Green and Digital Shipping Corridor has become the flagship. By 2025, Singapore and Rotterdam had gathered around 28 partners on this 15,000-kilometre route. Together, they operate more than 90 large container ships and roughly 1.5 million TEU of annual capacity. The partners aim to cut emissions from those ships on this lane by 20-30% by 2030. They plan to use cleaner fuels and efficiency gains. According to Port of Rotterdam CEO Boudewijn Siemons, the corridor has already delivered “first, valuable steps” – establishing new standards.
China is reviewing its own corridors. Studies find renewable marine fuels viable on selected coastal routes. A Los Angeles-Shanghai corridor also aims to cut emissions. It will start with operational gains and cleaner fuels. Then it will move toward zero-carbon options as supply scales up.
Fleet and port strategies are beginning to align. The number of dual-fuel vessels is rising. There are roughly 1,100 container and vehicle-carrier ships in service or on order. About 40% of new orders in 2025 were designed for alternative fuels.
Ports are moving in step. New York and New Jersey have set a 2050 net-zero target. Other ports, such as Umeå, are deploying shore power and testing new fuels. They are also upgrading hinterland links to cut emissions.
Transition will not be free. By 2030, shipping costs could rise 6-14%. Net-zero shifts could push product costs up by around 10-15%. Green corridors may favour well-capitalised trades. Smaller and emerging-market fleets could face higher costs and constrained access to fuels and finance.
Yet the direction is set. Korea has enacted supportive legislation, and Nordic-Baltic routes are turning into testbeds. China is mapping corridors, while ports from New York-New Jersey to Rotterdam align targets with green and digital corridors and flexible fuels. This transition can manage dependencies, address fuel volatility, and meet carbon rules. When a single strait in the Middle East can disrupt a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil, the safest route is no longer the cheapest – instead, it is the most predictable and low-carbon.
About the Authors:
Wolfgang Lehmacher is a global supply chain logistics expert. The former director at the World Economic Forum and CEO Emeritus of GeoPost Intercontinental is an advisory board member of The Logistics and Supply Chain Management Society, an ambassador for F&L, and an advisor to Global:SF and RISE. He has also co-initiated the VWT initiative. He contributes to the knowledge base of Maritime Informatics andis a co-editor of the book Maritime Decarbonization.
Mikael Lind is the world’s first (adjunct) Professor of Maritime Informatics at Chalmers University of Technology and Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE). He is a widely published expert in international trade press, co-editor of the first two books on Maritime Informatics and Maritime Decarbonization. His work has directly shaped community-based digital collaboration initiatives, including the Virtual Watch Tower (VWT).
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