Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 9, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 1, 2026
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Clarksons posted a 21% fall in underlying pre-tax profit to £90.6 m for the year ended 31 December 2025, as geopolitical uncertainty, U.S. tariffs and a growing sanctioned tanker fleet disrupted shipping markets. Forward order book rose to US$244 m.
March 9 (Reuters) - Clarksons, the world’s largest shipping services provider, posted a 21% drop in its annual profit on Monday, as geopolitical uncertainty and U.S. tariffs weighed on its broking and support divisions.
The results reflect the broader challenges the global shipping industry faced in 2025, as new tariffs, evolving sanctions and regional conflicts disrupted established trade routes and created complexity across sectors.
That complexity has only deepened in 2026, the company said, with the evolving sanctions environment leaving nearly 1,000 vessels in the global tanker fleet currently under sanction.
Clarksons, which offers shipbroking, research, logistics support, and maritime financial services to facilitate global trade, said underlying profit before tax fell to 90.6 million pounds ($120.67 million) for the year ended December, from 115.3 million pounds a year earlier.
The firm said its forward order book for 2026 stood at $244 million, up from $231 million at the start of 2025.
($1 = 0.7508 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)
Clarksons' profit fell due to geopolitical uncertainty, U.S. tariffs, evolving sanctions, and disruptions in global trade routes.
Clarksons reported a 21% drop in underlying profit before tax, falling to 90.6 million pounds from 115.3 million pounds.
The industry faced new tariffs, evolving sanctions, regional conflicts, and disruptions to established trade routes.
Nearly 1,000 vessels in the global tanker fleet are currently under sanction, according to Clarksons.
Clarksons’ forward order book for 2026 stands at $244 million, up from $231 million at the start of 2025.
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