Bridget Diakun
Senior Risk and Compliance Analyst, Lloyd’s List Intelligence
Bridget Diakun joined Lloyd’s List Intelligence in January 2022 as a data journalist. She initially worked on understanding the impact that the war in Ukraine had on commercial shipping in the Black and Caspian seas.
In 2023, she was named 'Multimedia Journalist of the Year' by the Seahorse Freight Association for her extensive investigation into the trade out of the occupied ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk.
Now Lloyd’s List’s senior risk and compliance analyst, Bridget focuses on the intersection of geopolitics and commercial shipping. She assesses the impact of conflict on seaborne trade, how the maritime industry adapts to sanctions and investigates tactics used by vessels to disguise illicit activities.
Latest From Bridget Diakun
Greece, China and Russia lead shipping’s Red Sea return, but others are now following
Greek and Chinese companies continue to accelerate their return to Red Sea transits, but some of the recent growth has also been driven by ships affiliated with countries that would have previously been considered high risk
France boards second tanker as pressure to tackle stateless vessels mounts
Sanctioned aframax, last tracked off Spain, has not transmitted AIS data for several hours
Red Sea traffic struggling to gain traction
Red Sea traffic stalled in December as security uncertainty, shifting market forces and attractive Cape‑route economics kept most operators from returning despite a lull in Houthi attacks. A handful of carriers have begun cautiously testing the waters, but volatile regional politics and elevated costs continue to slow any meaningful rebound
US blockade has left Venezuela shadow fleet in limbo
Lloyd’s List analysis of Venezuela shadow fleet sees some ships re-routing, some starting to spoof location and several undeterred by the US blockade, but many wait in limbo
Venezuela risk accelerates Russian intake of shadow fleet vessels
Shadow fleet tankers servicing Venezuela are starting to join the growing list of flag-hopping vessels leaving fraudulent registers and joining the Russian flag
The shadow fleet — and all its risks — will persist, no matter what happens in 2026
The events of the past four years have exposed systemic weaknesses in the maritime governance order, and there’s no going back from this