Watchkeeper: Plenty to think about

BIMCO General Meetings have a reputation for being rather different to those in the run of the mill conference circuit, and that in Vancouver last week was no exception. They make their delegates think – about big pictures – about the important background trends

that drive our industry of derived demand - and the way forward.
The theme for Vancouver was sustainability; an ideal location for such a topic, seeing this city on Burrard Inlet in beautiful British Columbia might be thought of as a “market leader” in valuing its environment, with clean air and pristine waters while doubling as Canada’s biggest port. As the Hon. Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of the Government of B.C. noted, “transportation is the backbone of our local community”. And Vancouver undoubtedly values its maritime past and present, with the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia well-connected, dynamic, and enjoying a great deal of support. Its counsel and sponsorship of the BIMCO meeting was greatly appreciated.
BIMCO Bulletin No. 3 will have a fuller report of the proceedings in Vancouver, but let us offer a “taster”, which might give something of a flavour of the event. Why do people run ships around the world? For profit? The reality is that shipping is a service that is for people and by people, so the demography of the world governs both the supply and demand of shipping services. So have we considered the implications for shipping and trade of changing demographics – of rising populations in some areas, but falling ones in others? Have we considered the effects of ageing populations, those where there is a huge young workforce that must be employed or countries where economic growth is handicapped because there are not enough young people to do the work? People matter, and not for the usual reasons we give 

We worry about the environment – why would we not, when it is being thrust under our noses every day? We are concerned about the effects of CO2 on temperatures, the emissions from ships and, whether we believe the scientific “consensus”, the cost of mitigation measures cannot but worry us. But in Vancouver we were urged to consider a bigger picture, to think greener, stop considering short term measures and ask what the private sector can do to seize the business opportunities that flow from the needs of a cleaner, greener world. 

Nevertheless, our concerns about energy availability, which goes rather further than fuel prices, are hedged around with uncertainties and if we were determined to make shipping more energy efficient, Vancouver gave us plenty of incentives to leave no stone unturned in the effort to make our fuel go further. 

But what of technology – here we might have some reason for optimism, with operators being given encouragement to pick the “low hanging fruit” of technical areas where maximum gain can be obtained for reasonable outlay. And while in the long term the industry has to address the need to produce a new generation of environmentally friendly vessels, there are still useful things that can be done to the ships already in service. There are “game changers” out there and available to the open-minded. There was a great deal in Vancouver to open minds
Source: Bimco