Why it's good to talk about the future
Maersk's new campaign wants us to start talking about where the industry should be heading
Too much talk, not enough action. It’s a charge levelled with alarming frequently at the maritime industry – usually from within and from those at least partially responsible for the constant posturing.
The world’s biggest carrier wants us to look to the future and move forward before we are forced to by legislators. It wants us to emulate Apple, who twice gave customers what they had always wanted before they themselves knew that they had always wanted it.
While I’m certainly no fan of endless discussions lacking clear resolutions, there is in my view a time and a place for debates with clear purpose and direction. And Maersk - with its polished image and unrivalled global shipping prowess - certainly has the power to provide both. Its ‘Changing the way we think about shipping’ initiative is crisp and well-conceived. And comments made on its dedicated site are visible, so we all have the potential to learn something about our industry from others.
Will the initiative fundamentally overhaul the ports and shipping industry? Perhaps not, but it certainly has the power to get us talking about the future in an open and transparent manner.
For a complete reinvention of ports we could look to another discussion-based initiative launched at the same time by equipment manufacturer Cargotec. Offering a more light-hearted look at future innovations, Cargotec invites us to think about how containers will be handled in 2060.
Dubbed Port 2060, its initiative aims to “spark discussion within the terminal operations sector and to try and anticipate the challenges and solutions that will be relevant to containerisation as it approaches its centenary”. In fact, in this both projects share a common base: ‘Changing the way we think about shipping’ and Port 2060 are both predicated on the anniversary of the container, recognising how far we have come as an industry since its introduction in the 1950s.
The highlight of the Cargotec initiative is undoubtedly its light-hearted visual representation of what ports of 2060 might look like at port2060.cargotec.com. Offshore ports, artificial islands, floating feeder terminals are not so-far-fetched. But underground silos for container storage, flying spreaders, magnetic levitation of containers, and airships for medium range transport within a terminal might raise a few wry eyebrows.
Maersk’s serious challenge for revolution, not evolution and Cargotec’s more eccentric view of cargo handling in 2060 both offer strong launch pads for discussions about the future of shipping. Rather than criticising from the sidelines, why not get involved and see where these discussions take us. I for one will be watching them closely.
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2012. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
