I am both honoured and humbled to have been appointed Chairman of the Baltic Council. 

Honoured because I have been a member of the Baltic Exchange for nearly 40 years. During that time, I have witnessed many different freight market cycles, from boom to bust, and have seen at first hand the role the Baltic and its membership have played in ensuring that, whatever has been thrown at it, shipping has remained remarkably resilient, being the essential conduit for international trade and economic growth and advancement around the world. My predecessor, Lord Mountevans has shown with great mastery, how the Council Chairman can work to ensure The Baltic Exchange remains at the forefront of the maritime industry not least by working tirelessly with our global membership to make certain the Baltic supports it amid an ever changing economic, geopolitical and regulatory landscape. On behalf of us all, I thank Jeffrey for his work and example. It is indeed an honour to have been asked to continue this work.

Humbled because I am well aware that the enduring success of the Baltic depends upon the unique partnership between the membership and the institution, and that, as Chairman of the Baltic Council, a key element of my role revolves around developing and strengthening that relationship on behalf of the entire membership. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the acquisition of the Baltic Exchange by SGX, giving rise to the Baltic Council, I am delighted that, since then, the Baltic has gone from strength to strength with its panellists playing a key role in sustaining and expanding its freight market information and settlement indices, whilst Baltic support for its membership through a wide range of complementary services has expanded as it continues to  support market operations based on the Baltic’s timeless commitment to integrity, transparency and excellence. I am proud that the last few years have completed the Baltic’s evolution over more than 280 years into a truly global institution and that has seen our membership more than double since 2016, to number some 5500 individuals worldwide. I look forward to doing all I can to build on these remarkable developments.

I am also delighted to be assuming the role as the Baltic marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of its original freight index, BFI, and its associated freight futures market BIFFEX. Those developments were predicated on the wholly original idea of settling commodity style futures contracts against cash settlement linked to an index. From those exploratory beginnings, of one index constituted of just 13 dry cargo routes, today’s extraordinarily diverse and complex freight futures industry has evolved. Today, the Baltic publishes more than 200 indices covering the dry bulk, tanker, gas container and air freight markets with the Baltic remains at the heart of an orderly, well-regulated and secure marketplace. This entire edifice depends on the architecture and integrity of the settlement indices. Whilst the concept of cash settled derivatives is no longer restricted to freight, the Baltic’s principles and procedures for index production remain world leading. For nearly 40 years I have played a role as a dry cargo panellist and I now look forward to putting that experience to good use in fostering the crucial and rewarding relationship between panelists and the Baltic.

With my very best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2025 to you all, 

Guy Hindley

Baltic Council Chairman