Danish Shipping has published a report that analyses the risks and opportunities facing the Danish shipping industry in a changing world.
The “Shipping: A Strategic Industry in a More Competitive World” report highlights a series of key market risks arising from structural changes. Shipping companies and Danish policymakers face key market risks arising from these structural trends, including:
- The scale of China’s industrial policy support and its shipbuilding and maritime value chain presence creating leverage over Danish shipping firms, amplified if China asserts a lead in green fuels and vessels.
- Fragmented capital markets and potentially tighter lending conditions, leading to the relocation of ship finance to other jurisdictions and undermining financing for the upscaling of green fuels.
- Higher frequency geopolitical shocks, shifting geopolitical alliances, and competitors’ control of critical port infrastructure creating a risk of Danish shipping having less preferential access to strategic waterways than its competitors outside Europe.
- Data vulnerabilities created by increased software usage and China’s presence in port infrastructure, reasserting the need for shipping companies to implement security by design.
We need to avoid critical dependence on others, especially when it comes to the production of the alternative, greener fuels that will power the green transition of the shipping sector in the years to come,
… said Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping.
Nevertheless, shifting global trade routes and the imperative of the energy and digital transitions also create significant opportunities for Denmark to enhance its existing maritime competitive advantages and improve competitiveness going forward. These include:
- Utilizing the EU’s Global Gateway to expand trade ties and green and digital port infrastructure in Middle Powers and developing economies.
- Providing policy support and leveraging the EU and Denmark’s advanced green fuels regulatory framework to overcome cost barriers and ensure stable demand for upscaling European green fuels production.
- Expanding Denmark’s presence in manufacturing advanced maritime equipment and vessels to service the low-carbon economy.
- Integrating new technologies, data-sharing, and digitalization to enhance the productivity of Danish shipping, shipbuilding, and port infrastructure, as well as the shipping industry’s adaptability to more frequent shocks.
Different policy actions and strategic investment decisions by shipping companies will be required depending on the nature of the challenges faced. Multilateral policy solutions need a comprehensive stakeholder strategy of engagement, while ‘single agency’ technical solutions require a targeted focus by industry players to identify and capture opportunities or reduce risks.
A fragmented and increasingly competitive global policy environment amplifies the status of the Danish maritime cluster as a key strategic asset. Ensuring the best possible framework conditions to leverage its competitive advantages and address vulnerabilities therefore requires executives and policymakers to approach decisions with a strategic perspective.
Shipping will help make Denmark richer, greener and safer
