The great exposure that shipping got in the Swedish daily press during the month of March due to the consequences of the corona crisis seems to have settled. Three weeks into April, only four articles have been published that relate to shipping compared with 200 the month before.

Following the first alarms on layoffs, closed lines and demands for economic to keep traffic alive, Sweden's daily press, radio and television have lost interest in shipping again. It may not be that strange. Except for canceled amusement cruises, the general public has been largely unaffected by the decline in shipping. There is plenty of gas in the pumps at gas stations and the shelves in the shops do not gap empty - there is even toilet paper to bunk for anyone who wants!

"Öresund has become a quieter sea," wrote Sydsvenskan, while Expressen and a few others wrote about how Stena Saga will be transformed into a floating corona hospital. So much more has not been written about shipping in the Swedish daily press so far in April. At least not according to Lighthouse's tool for media surveillance who gave us four articles in total. The number is probably much lower than usual - in February, 50 articles were published.

Now, when it’s “corona as usual”, it suddenly seems as if shipping is more invisible than ever. This does not only apply to Swedish daily press. During the period March 1 to April 5, Lighthouse published 85 external news about shipping (mostly such as our tool for media surveillance retrieve from industry magazines around the world). Since then we have published 14 articles.

The corona crisis has made shipping visible