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New analyst-led unit will help shipping, trade, finance, insurance, compliance and government organisations understand what is changing across global maritime activity, and what those changes mean for risk, resilience and commercial decision-making.
London, Thursday 16 July 2026— Lloyd’s List Intelligence today announces the launch of its new Maritime Intelligence Unit (MIU), created to help organisations make clearer decisions in a more complex, disrupted and closely scrutinised maritime environment.
The new unit brings together Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s proprietary maritime data, advanced analytical capability and deeply embedded sector expertise. It is designed to make Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s specialist knowledge more directly available to customers and the wider supply chain ecosystem, turning high-volume maritime data into authoritative, connected and decision-ready intelligence.
The MIU will deploy Lloyd’s List Intelligence analysts and subject matter experts against the questions that matter most: from sanctions and compliance exposure to chokepoint disruption, shifting trade flows and emerging geopolitical risk.
Every intelligence call made by the MIU is human validated. That means signals generated through data, analytics and technology are reviewed by Lloyd’s List Intelligence analysts and subject matter experts before being presented as insight. In a market where speed and automation are increasingly important, the MIU is designed to ensure that customers also receive context, judgement and accountability.
The launch comes at a time when maritime trade is being reshaped by geopolitical volatility, sanctions pressure, security disruption, regulatory change and shifting trade flows. For businesses, governments and financial institutions, the challenge is no longer only to know where vessels are. It is to understand what their movements mean, to see risk earlier, and to understand disruption in context.
Most importantly, it is to make decisions with confidence.
The Maritime Intelligence Unit will focus on the areas where Lloyd’s List Intelligence sees the greatest need for trusted, expert-led intelligence. These include sanctions, compliance and shadow fleet monitoring; geopolitical risk and chokepoint analysis; policy and regulatory outlooks; and, as the market evolves, other areas where maritime movement, risk and trade intersect.
Coinciding with its launch, the MIU has published two new live transit dashboards covering the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. These dashboards give users a clearer view of vessel transits through two of the world’s most strategically important maritime corridors, including changes over time, vessel type breakdowns, direction of travel, tanker flows and dark transit activity.
The Strait of Hormuz Transit Monitor, for example, tracks vessel movements through one of the world’s most sensitive maritime chokepoints, showing transit volumes, eastbound and westbound movements, shadow fleet activity, sanctioned vessels and dark transits. It demonstrates the MIU’s approach in practice: combining data, context and expert interpretation to help users understand not just activity, but exposure.
“Shipping has always been a global system, but it is now operating under a level of scrutiny and uncertainty that demands a different kind of intelligence,” said Waqas Samad, CEO at Lloyd’s List Intelligence. “Customers need more than data points. They need judgement. They need context. They need to understand the commercial, regulatory and geopolitical meaning behind vessel movements, trade patterns and emerging risks.”
“At the heart of the MIU is a simple belief: data becomes valuable when it is interpreted by people who understand the market. The Maritime Intelligence Unit has been created to meet that need. It brings together our maritime heritage, our proprietary data, our subject matter experts and the power of new analytical technologies. The aim is not to replace expert judgement, but to strengthen it” said Adam Sharpe, Senior VP, Maritime Intelligence & Editorial.
The MIU team includes Bridget Diakun, Maritime Intelligence & Research Director, Cichen Shen, Maritime Intelligence Director, APAC and Tomer Raanan, Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst.
Richard Meade will be a senior advisor to the MIU, combined with his existing role as Lloyd’s List Editor-in-Chief.
The Maritime Intelligence Unit sits alongside Lloyd’s List’s established editorial and market analysis capability. While Lloyd’s List continues to provide daily insight, commentary and analysis for the global shipping industry, the MIU will connect signals across vessels, companies, ports, cargo movements, trade flows and geopolitical events, helping customers identify patterns earlier and act with greater confidence.
“Technology gives us new ways to see the maritime world,” added Arne Staal, Chief Research Officer at LLI. “But technology alone is not enough. The value comes from asking better questions, applying experience and understanding the industry context. That is where Lloyd’s List Intelligence has a particular responsibility and a particular advantage.”
The launch reflects Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s broader ambition to strengthen its role as a trusted global intelligence partner for maritime, trade, compliance, risk and technology audiences. Its data and analytics are already used by professionals across shipping, insurance, finance, law, logistics, government and wider global trade.
As disruption becomes more frequent, and as maritime activity becomes more closely linked to geopolitical, regulatory and commercial risk, the need for trusted intelligence will only grow.
The Maritime Intelligence Unit has been built for that environment.
