The Carbon Intensity Indicator has been operational since January 2023. By 2026, vessels must have achieved an 11% cumulative improvement in CO2 intensity relative to their 2019 baseline. The annual reduction requirement does not pause because freight rates are high, because scrapping is economically unattractive, or because replacement tonnage is not yet available. The ratchet turns regardless. The question in 2026 is not whether CII will eventually force scrapping. It is which vessel...

In February 2026, Belgian special forces rappelled from French military helicopters onto a tanker in the North Sea. The ship, the Ethera, was Guinea-registered and heading back toward Russia. Belgian authorities suspected it was part of the shadow fleet. A criminal investigation was launched, the vessel escorted to Zeebrugge, and it was later confirmed the ship had been sailing under a false flag with an expired registry since August 2025. That scene captures where shadow fleet enforcement...