Oil prices leapt as Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered forces into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine this week. Bunker prices hit all-time record highs, while news of a raft of sanctions levelled against Russia sparked conjecture that the skirmish could benefit shipping’s overall tonne-mile demand picture.

Robert Mærsk Uggla, 43, was nominated as the new chair of the board at A.P. Moller – Maersk, Denmark’s largest transport conglomerate, replacing Jim Hagemann Snabe with ...