Almost one year on from Joe Biden's US election victory, his mandated moves to begin the "transition" (as he put it) from oil have taken a knock.

Well, several, to be more precise. During campaigning, Biden expressed the view that the US could shake off its reliance on oil and gas by the year 2050, and pledged to limit the spread of fracking (hydraulic fracturing), for example, by withdrawing leases on federal land. New oil and gas exploration approvals were also expected to be cut in the coming years, to reduce future oil and gas production activity. But, the first eleven months of the Biden Presidency have been dogged by an acute energy crisis, which has reinforced the importance of the United States in global oil and gas supply and thrown transition plans into confusion. We already know that several banks and pension funds have pledged not to fund new oil and gas projects, citing environmental concerns. And these moves, now accompanied by government pledges along the same lines, appear to be creating the impression of an impending future shortage of oil and gas. Hence, prices have escalated as a natural response to this fear.

Ask consumers of fuel what their priority is, and most will say they want stable prices and security of supply.

This week, we spoke to Infospectrum's Chief Technology Officer about working at Infospectrum and developing our in-house solutions.

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Whether viewed as regulatory compulsion, stakeholder activism or corporate mission, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) compliance is the new frontier of the maritime and commodities sectors.

Driven by an unexpected surge in demand and record profitability in the last 12 months, owners have returned to the newbuilding market to capitalise on the global requirements for additional capacity.

While war chests have evidently been sufficiently strengthened to prompt a sharp increase in tonnage acquisitions and newbuilding orders, it would be wrong to dismiss the prospect of any future risks down the line for investors.

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This month we spoke to Keith Ball, Senior Analyst at Infospectrum’s office in Saskatoon, Canada. He shared with us his take on working at Infospectrum, and the challenges faced by the shipping industry at the moment.

Global onshore gas and liquid fuels storage operators have been enjoying buoyant market conditions over recent periods, with rising occupancy rates, healthy financial results, and an upbeat outlook.

The dramatic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tanker market has been replicated to some extent in onshore storage markets, with a strong appetite for capacity emerging during 2020 and early 2021, compared with previous years.

A carbon-free maritime sector may seem a distant prospect, but the largest liner operators are aready making plans to comply with regulatory measures well in advance of the key 2050 deadline. However, many questions need to be answered and challenging decisions need to be made.

This month, coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Week, we spoke to Steph Rockett, Infospectrum's Global HR Manager based at our Oxford office. She shares with us her take on working at Infospectrum and what the company has been doing to support employees' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.