Shipping loves a war. It’s a trite saying, dished out by shipping veterans as TV news correspondents don flak jackets and social media becomes awash with armchair generals.
Rates near war zones tend to spike at any sign of a skirmish, and the need to source cargoes from alternative, peaceful climes has a habit of extending the overall tonne-mile picture, soaking up tonnage and making owners richer.
That’s the argument regularly trotted out. However, with this Russian invasion there is o...