A new survey exploring the impact of COVID-19 in shipping industry identified the cruise sector as the most affected shipping fragment and crewing as the most impacted changing process in the post-pandemic era.
The survey, conducted by international law firm Reed Smith in the second half of 2020 to a range of shipping professionals, sought to discover what impacts participants consider the pandemic will have on the industry in the longer term.
Among others, the survey identified an expected increase in the pace of technology adoption in the shipping industry, with 73% of respondents indicating that the pandemic has increased their need for better digital systems and IT infrastructure. Meanwhile, respondents emphasized that COVID-19 has unveiled the need for transparency in the shipping industry in order to tackle the challenges caused by the pandemic.
Methodology
Key impacts of COVID-19
- Cruise: The cruise industry was seen by the respondents as the industry that will be the most impacted as a result of COVID-19. According to CLIA data, since March 2020, in Europe alone, more than 200,000 jobs that depend directly or indirectly on the cruise industry have been lost.
Kickstarting the cruise industry, with the panoply of safety measures which cruise lines will have to implement to encourage passengers back onboard, such as social distancing and COVID-19 testing, means the pandemic could have a long-lasting effect,
…the report reads.
- Changing processes: Respondents saw crewing as likely to be the most impacted process within the shipping industry. In July 2020, the UK hosted the first International Maritime Summit on Crew Changes, to address crewing issues as a result of COVID-19, with the United Nations and other political and business leaders. The outcome of the summit was that seafarers were deemed “key workers,” affording them the protections of other key workers among IMO member states.
With the advancement in autonomous vessels potentially providing an answer to some of the crewing constraints in the longer term, the pandemic may well have forced shipping companies to re-evaluate crewing needs for the future.
Technology drivers: Remote working has become the new normal for many companies across the globe, including shipping. While the sector has been viewed by many as a late adopter of new technology, there have been several advances in recent years.
As more industry participants have been forced to review their information technology systems as a result of COVID-19, we can expect the pace of technology adoption in the shipping industry to increase. This is a view that was shared widely by our survey respondents, with 73 percent indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased their need for better digital systems and IT infrastructure,
…Reed Smith informs.
- Transparency: Almost two-thirds of the survey respondents felt that more transparency in the shipping industry is needed in order to tackle the impact and challenges caused by the pandemic.
Increased levels of transparency would allow the industry to work more collaboratively and drive efficiencies across the sector as a result.
FIND THE FULL REPORT BY REED SMITH HERE
