Each January, TradeWinds starts off the year by asking a wide array of shipping industry stakeholders to weigh in on the industry’s path ahead.

This time, after a year in which black swans continued to make prognostication seemingly impossible, we did it a little differently. We put money — fake money — in our respondents’ handsand ask them how they would spend invest a fantasy fund to tackle the challenges and uncertainties of the day: decarbonisation, supply chain resilience and geopolitics.

Here’s the question we asked each of the 54 leaders, and one artificial intelligence-driven chatbot:

“How, where and why would you invest $1bn for the best return in sustainable shipping, as the industry grapples with the need to cut carbon emissions, improve efficiency and keep cargoes moving in a world facing multiple economic and political challenges? The investment will be made now and ideally held for the next seven years to the end of the decade.

“As a bonus, give one policy or regulation you would like to implement from 1 January 2023 to benefit shipping?”

Here’s how they answered.