But when we come to look back at the end of this decade in all probability it will also be seen as a landmark decade in shaping the world of ports and shipping. Two examples in particular support this view.<\/p>\n
Digitalisation: widely heralded as the fourth industrial revolution has immense potential to significantly lift efficiency levels in the ports, shipping and logistics sectors; in diverse critical respects across the business spectrum \u2013 right through from planning and operations to basic administrative and communication functions.<\/p>\n
Sitting under the digital banner are new technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, advanced wireless technologies and automation, and clearly each of these elements is already exerting a strong influence with a huge amount of potential remaining to tap into.<\/p>\n
Examples? Fully automated terminals have already arrived \u2013 more will come. Maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) are under development with deployment expected in this decade in a local or regional context.<\/p>\n
The words of Mikael Makinen, President, Marine, Rolls Royce, amplify belief in the concept: \u201cAutonomous shipping is the future of the maritime industry. As disruptive as the smartphone, the smart ship will revolutionise the landscape of ship design and operations,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Sustainable development: widely defined as: \u201cdevelopment, which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and to choose their own lifestyles.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ports, shipping and logistics sectors have got the bit between their teeth on this front with hardly a day going by without a major industry player announcing new emissions targets or increasingly the achievement of milestones on this road as they seek to attain big number reductions by 2030, 2050 or another target date. This decade promises to be recognised as the decade when real momentum got behind the push for sustainability.<\/p>\n
And both these areas are spawning substantial new business streams and individual businesses. Examples? In the drive for sustainability, look at the huge amount of work going into alternative fuels for shipping and means of sourcing electric power from renewable energy sources for cargo handling equipment.<\/p>\n
Ports are heavily engaged in serving the renewable energy sector, frequently representing an essential component in its construction, as well as seriously engaging with the idea of becoming an LNG hub (Barcelona for the Mediterranean) or a hydrogen hub (Rotterdam aims to establish itself as both a LNG and hydrogen) hub. This decade promises to be truly transformative in the history of our industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
COMMENT: The container was probably the last mega innovation in the world of ports and shipping, writes Mike Mundy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"sponsor":[],"class_list":["post-1405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-strategist"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1405"},{"taxonomy":"sponsor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sponsor?post=1405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}