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The global shipping industry has urged the European Union to drop the sector's inclusion in proposals adopted Feb. 15 to reform the bloc's carbon market, saying it risks distorting trade and international efforts to cut the sector's emissions.

The global shipping industry is in the midst of a huge downturn, with weak demand engulfing it for the past few years. Experts acknowledge that the sector’s biggest hurdle is overcapacity, but the wave of mergers and acquisitions means the hard times will pass eventually.

Sales of secondhand ships used to haul commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizer have hit a seven-year high in 2016 as the industry creeps out of an eight-year downturn that has sunk several fleets of shippers.

A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the owner of the world’s biggest container shipping line, saw its shares fall Nov. 9 as the outcome of the U.S. presidential election fanned concern there will be a shift toward policies that are hostile toward global trade.

Japan’s three biggest shippers agreed to combine their container operations to create the world’s sixth-largest box carrier, as the industry steps up consolidation this year amid a global turmoil in the sea-cargo business.

SINGAPORE — The global shipping industry is bracing for a key regulatory decision that could mark a milestone in reducing maritime pollution, but which could nearly double fuel costs in a sector already reeling from its worst downturn in decades.

Hanjin Shipping Co. applied for court protection Aug. 31 after failed efforts to secure credit and tide over a cash shortage.

Hanjin Shipping Co., the distressed Korean container mover that filed for court protection Aug. 31, is emerging as a symbol of the slump that has plagued the industry since the global financial crisis.

BRUSSELS — Several container shipping companies have promised to change practices that potentially allowed them to raise the price of global goods transport, the European Commission announced July 7, following an investigation.