5 leaders in the shipping industry speak to us about game-changing challenges and opportunities ahead of the maritime industry.
Watch the video or read the transcript below.
Stephen Cotton, General Secretary, ITF
“I think this is a really large question because the ITF has been continually promoting corporate responsibility. And in our view, corporate responsibility doesn’t come if you pay no tax, if you are not a proper stakeholder in the world, particularly if you move to a different model of employment.
“So ‘employed by an app’ – what does that mean? Today we sell our labour. All contract labour law is based on someone having a value for their time, selling that to the employer and there’s a price for that. Digitalised employment where you are only employed at certain times or you are not employed because you have been replaced by a computer will throw up a lot of society questions that we need to be a part of the solution to bring. We’re open to those conversations, whether it’s a global minimum wage, whether it’s a methodology of how you educate.
“All of those issues need to be challenged and tackled in a way that says technology isn’t bad, but we have to remember that technology was made by us for us. We shouldn’t be dictated to by technology.”
KD Adamson, Futurist & CEO, Futurenautics
“Challenges and opportunities that change the game… Well, if you look at it on a technology level, then some of the things that are going to be coming into the next five to ten years will change the game across every industry. I’m thinking about things like the development of blockchain and quantum computing, which is going to be very interesting and exciting.
“One of the other things we have to focus on is cybersecurity and cyber resilience because it’s a big issue in this and every other industry. I think that if we can start getting our heads around how we can be cyber resilient and how we can work together to protect each other, that is a great basis for digital transformation because to be cybersecure and cyber resilient means that you are digitally competent and that’s what we need to start with. We need to build our digital infrastructure and I think there’s a huge opportunity there.
“If there’s any area that you can totally justify spending a little bit of money, it’s to make sure that you are cybersecure and at the same time, you can develop your digital competence and move into digital transformation. I think that’s a big opportunity that every operator and every maritime supplier should definitely be looking at.”
John Lloyd, Chief Executive Officer, The Nautical Institute
“I think that when we look at game-changers, it’s about increased amounts of automation. People talk about autonomous ships; I don’t think that means unmanned ships, I think it means using automation and reliable technology to its best advantage, making ships more efficient, making them cleaner, making them safer.
“And it’s about harnessing that capability into a safe, effective maritime environment. I think that can be attractive for the industry and for the people who work in it.”
Alexander Avanth, Future Education Specialist, Expert in 21st Century Competences, Dare Disrupt
“The opportunities for the future is make sense of data fast. Data is in its essence the crude oil of the 21st century and each one of us are oil rigs, so to say. So if you can quickly understand what data you are producing and what this can be used for, then it’s a great opportunity. Now, the threat on the other side is to give it away. What we’ve experienced with GAFAST (Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Ali Babas), is that we just simply give our information away, give our data away for their convenience.
“These companies are still not on the sea, so the maritime industry has a unique opportunity to leverage this unharnessed data and take full ownership of the sea.”
Mark Charman, CEO, Faststream Recruitment Group
“I think the challenges are going to be new technology. I think the challenges are going to be skills shortages. I think that the sector is not ready, and I don’t think that the sector realises how hard it’s going to get to attract seafarers in the first place. We heard yesterday [at CrewConnect Global] about the Philippines being the second fastest growing economy in the Asian region.
“That economy is going to grow, grow, grow. There’s going to be a wealth of opportunity available in a wide range of non-maritime sectors in the Philippines. I think what you will see is that those seafarers that went to sea originally, I think you will see those people go into careers outside of maritime in the Philippines and in other emerging and developing economies around the world.
“I think there’s going to be more competition for those people from those developing economies and I think organisations in the sectors are going to have to up their game to find these people and attract them in the first place.”
