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Hudson’s 2025 Top 10 Supply Chain Wrap-Up:  The SCM News That Made Waves

     Public Relations

Hudson’s 2025 Top 10 Supply Chain Wrap-Up:  The SCM News That Made Waves
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With 2025 coming to an end, Hudson reflects on the supply chain stories that defined the year. Among the most notable:

1. Scottish Nonprofit Names The Ocean As Board Member
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The charitable research institute Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) has voted to make “the ocean” a trustee on its board, represented by a person or group that can speak up for the ocean’s interests.

The 140-year-old SAMS said that the typical focus of even the best-intentioned ambitions invariably give priority to human interests. Elevating the ocean to its board will prioritize the interests of the oceans, which cover nearly 75% of Earth’s surface.

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2. Few Supply Chain Organizations Ready to Deliver on Future Performance: Survey
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Just 29% of supply chain organizations have developed at least three of the five key competitive characteristics needed for future readiness, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. The characteristics, such as being competent using artificial intelligence and being able to navigate new trade policies, are needed for supply chain officers to succeed, Gartner said.

Gartner, an American technological research and consulting firm, surveyed 579 supply chain practitioners across industry and geography, July 31-October 1, 2024.

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3. Former New Zealand Ports CEO Fined for Dockworker’s Death
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The former chief executive at New Zealand’s Port of Auckland has been fined NZ $190,000 for the death of a stevedore in 2020. It is the first time that a company's top leader has been convicted and sentenced for breaching safety duties in New Zealand.

The sentencing of Tony Gibson stems from an August 2020 incident in which stevedore Pala’amo Kalati was crushed by a container at the port.

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4. Panama Canal to Reserve Transit Slots for Low-Emission Vessels
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To incentivize its customers toward decarbonization, the Panama Canal Authority will set aside lock slots beginning October 5 for vessels with low carbon emissions.

In addition, shipping companies that secure a NetZero Slot will be able to choose a transit date within the week offered, and a guaranteed transit time of 24 hours.

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5. 'Zombie Vessels' Continue to Multiply, Risking Safety At Sea
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Instances of ships operating under the stolen identities of decommissioned vessels continue to proliferate, with experts warning that, without action, the cases could become difficult to dislodge from international trade.

Operating under the identities of decommissioned ships, the so-called “zombie vessels” often operate without insurance and traffic in illicit trade. Moreover, their anonymity raises concerns about accountability, should they become involved in some sort of environmental disaster.

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6. Seafaring Tops the List of World’s Most Dangerous Professions
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More than one in five construction workers say they’ve been physically harmed on the job in the past two years. But one profession ranks even higher: ocean workers. A staggering one in four seafarers reported experiencing job-related harm during the same period.

A key factor? The weather. One-third of ocean workers said they were affected by severe weather—far outpacing the rate reported by land-based workers. And that weather is only getting more extreme.

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7. Alternative-Fuel Vessel Orders Grow As Overall Newbuild Market Slows
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Orders of alternative-fueled vessels continue to grow in 2025, even as the overall newbuild market slows, according to data from risk management company DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight.

Through the first six months of 2025, new orders for alternative-fueled vessels reached 19.8 million gross tons — topping orders at this point in 2024 by 78%.

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8. 41% of Containers Arrive at Ports Empty: Sea-Intelligence Study
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When container ships teeming with boxes arrive at port, remember this little-known fact: about four in 10 of the boxes today are empty.

Sea-Intelligence, a Danish firm which analyzes the global supply chain industry, looked at the need to move empty containers — and the cost to move them.

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9. Energy Demands Are Rising But Supply Chains Are Ill-Prepared
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A recent Prologis survey of 1,816 global executives found that 89% experienced energy-related disruptions in the last year, prompting many to believe the next major supply chain crisis will stem from unreliable energy.

With AI leading the future of many supply chains, energy demand is surging. Prologis, a San Franciso, California-based industrial real estate company, reported that companies are now reconsidering their supply chain geography, prioritizing locations with the most reliable energy networks.

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10. It Took Just One Loose Wire to Bring Down a Bridge
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A single loose signal wire on the 984-foot containership Dali triggered a chain of electrical failures that culminated in the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as reported in a meeting at NTSB headquarters earlier this month, the improperly installed wire prevented a secure connection within a terminal block, resulting in two blackouts that disabled both propulsion and steering just prior to the vessel striking a bridge pier.

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Bonus!  Containership Uses Arctic Route to Reach UK in 20 Days
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A containership halved its usual travel time to Felixstowe, United Kingdom, reaching the terminal on 13 October by using a route via the Arctic Northern Sea Route.  The journey marked the first time a containership sailed to the U.K via the Arctic from China.

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Bonus! Green Groups Urge Unified Scrubber Discharge Ban Across Northern Europe
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A coalition of environmental groups is calling on northern European countries to take swift action and ban the dumping of toxic scrubber waste in their waters.  Hudson has led the way in saying “NO to Scrubbers” and fully supports a worldwide ban on scrubber pollution.

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