Alkagesta chief executive Orkhan Rustamov has called on shipping companies and traders to respond actively to rising transport costs, arguing in an opinion piece for The Motor Ship that the industry cannot simply accept higher freight bills as unavoidable. According to Alkagesta Media’s account of the article, his argument centres on the structural pressures behind freight costs and the industry’s responsibility to address them.
The company outlet said Rustamov draws on several examples of recent freight-market developments. These include tanker rates on Eastern Mediterranean and regional trading routes, the cost of shipping from the Gulf to the Far East, and Trans-Rhine freight costs that it says have reached a 14-year high. The examples underpin his case for action rather than treating escalating transport expenses as a permanent condition that businesses must accommodate.
Rustamov’s proposed response rests on three priorities: operational agility, a more diversified supply chain and planning for different scenarios. Alkagesta Media presents these as the practical basis of his argument for greater resilience. The emphasis is on developing networks that can adapt when circumstances change, rather than accepting rising costs without a concerted response from the businesses involved in moving and trading goods.
Closer co-operation between shipping operators and traders is another central element of the piece, according to the account. Rustamov argues that the two groups need to work more closely together to create supply networks capable of handling abrupt geopolitical and environmental disruptions. His recommendations link that collaboration with diversification and preparedness as components of a more adaptable industry.
The article is an opinion contribution to The Motor Ship, a maritime and shipping publication. Alkagesta Media’s summary sets out Rustamov’s proposed priorities but provides no numerical freight-rate comparisons beyond the 14-year reference for Trans-Rhine costs.