Although the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in maritime transportation, the effects were less

severe than initially anticipated.Maritime trade contracted by 3.8% in 2020 as a result of the shock in
the first half of the year.However, there was a nascent, albeit asymmetric, recovery in the second half of
the year, and volumes had returned for both dry bulk commodities and containerized trade by the third
quarter.However, tanker shipping has not yet recovered completely.The COVID-19 pandemic spread in
stages and at varying speeds, with diverging paths across regions and markets, which is one reason why
maritime trade has performed better than anticipated.