Maritime industry leaders are calling for greater collaboration and consolidation in Asia to tackle challenges such as the rise overcapacity, talent shortages and environmental sustainability, which are impacting the potential of the industry.
There was consensus among the speakers at an industry insights briefing ahead of the launch of Sea Asia 2015 in Singapore, that the region’s maritime industry is facing significant growth opportunities but further collaboration and consolidation is needed.
They added that consolidation and stronger alliances across the public and private sector would help navigate these challenges.
The world’s container fleet stood at 5,043 vessels at the end of 2013, up from 5,010 at the end of 2012, with excess capacity amplified through the introduction of larger vessels. This has led to an oversupply, which impacts the profitability of the industry.
“We will see further consolidation,” said PIL managing director and Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) chairman S S Teo. “It is a matter of bringing people together to realise the challenges and the opportunities, and look at how we can overcome them together.”
He added that it’s not all about size and scale.
“We are seeing ships continuing to get bigger and bigger and a lot of focus on scale. However we need to remain equally focused on the softer side of shipping such as customer service and information technology,” he said.
Collaboration is also important to tackle the shortage of highly trained talent within the industry and environmental sustainability.
The world fleet is expanding at a rate of 2.3 percent per annum, fast outstripping the supply of global maritime talent. A recent BIMCO report highlighted that the world’s global supply of 624,000 officers falls 13,000 short of demand with 4,500 fewer workers employed in Singapore’s maritime sector in 2012, versus the previous year.
Maritime centres across Asia are working to address this challenge. Singapore, for example, has a number of initiatives in place. Its Maritime Cluster Fund – Manpower Development (MCF-MD) was established to develop and attract talent. In 2013 alone, MPA provided co-funding support to more than 4,400 participants of maritime training through the MCF-MD.
The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore assistant chief executive (development), Ms Tan Beng Tee, said that MPA is focused on developing a “pipeline of strong Singaporean talent”. The development of new technology as well as the increased productivity of the existing workforce will help reduce the demand for as many human resources.
“We also need to work together to share ideas and technology to develop more environmentally-friendly solutions,” said Teo.
“This is one focus area under the SMI Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap. We are planning an R&D programme to pursue issues and opportunities related to ballast water and exhaust emission, among others,” he said.
Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) chairman and Keppel Offshore & Marine manging director (marine & technology) Michael Chia said that by working together to overcome these challenges, the maritime industry in Asia is set for future growth.
“The basic driving force behind shipping will be the growth of the Asian economies. We see China continuing to grow. ASEAN has a reasonable growth pace; India is coming up and Vietnam is a hidden tiger. These economies will continue to sustain shipping.”
He added this is already clearly demonstrated in the region’s growing prominence in a number of critical areas, such as shipbuilding. Asia now controls more than 90 percent of the shipbuilding market, with China alone accounting for around 44 percent of the current global order book for new ships.
Seatrade chairman Chris Hayman said: “Asia is the world’s engine room for growth. Increasing intra-and-extra regional trade, a rapidly growing consuming class and emerging economies are all fuelling fast-paced growth in the region’s maritime industry. However, there are a number of challenges that the region needs to navigate.”
MPA’s Ms Tan agreed that Asia was fast growing in prominence. She said, “The opportunities for partnership and collaboration in the region are undoubtedly on the rise. With her strategic location and pro-business environment, Singapore is positioned well as a gateway to key Asian markets. Singapore continues to keep abreast of global developments and will continue to work with the industry to address and tackle key challenges and position ourselves strategically for future growth.”
-
Company DirectoryFreight RateExport RateAgency PartnershipCargo Leads