As a writer on maritime business, I am frequently asked, “What are you writing about these days?”
For the past few years, my answer has always been “digitalisation and decarbonisation”, or what I call “D and D” (not that other one – demurrage and detention, which others have covered very well).
While my D and D opining has been focused on the vessel side, it’s been very clear that forward thinkers and industry influencers are indeed talking about the central role of ports. This is a recognition that their role in the “data lake” (some would call it a “data stack”) mirrors the place of ports in real life - they are central to the movement of cargo, quite literally. This was highlighted recently at the SHIPPINGInsight2022 conference, held at a venue in suburban Connecticut- about an hour, outside of New York.
The conference keynote, the top executive at American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), provided an insightful view, from a high level, of how the shape of maritime commerce will evolve in the coming years. In his remarks at the event, he put the spotlight on governmental entities - which, certainly in the case of landlord structures, or direct operators, are central to the port business. The speaker told the audience (composed of shipowners and service providers, mainly), “… we need regulatory clarity and consistency. It is not just about the tank-to-wake vs well-to-wake issue. It is also very much about the port to ship issue since port inefficiency will directly impact ship efficiency in terms of CO2 emissions…”
In the introduction to a new ABS publication on “Green Corridors” (which will be the subject of a future article in Port Strategy), the Class Society writes:
“The creation of green shipping corridors, defined as a shipping route between two major port hubs (including intermediary stopovers) on which the technological, economic and regulatory feasibility of the operation of zero-emission ships are catalysed through public and private actions, offers the opportunity to accelerate progress in tackling the challenges of decarbonising shipping.” The creation of these corridors (also the subject of considerable high level attention at the COP 27 meetings in Egypt) requires a multi-pronged approach, but the key take-away for readers here is an obvious one- with a port on each end of the pathway, the ports are integral to the process (and will need to be fully linked into the relevant supply chains). With the early corridors providing the building blocks for more extensive networks, the port entities will be integral to the journey of shipping (sometimes called a “hard to abate” industry) toward a decarbonised and digitalised commercial future.
Link to the ABS publication is here.
