A green re-birth for the industry
We look back over the past year and forward to prospects for the next.
As is the The Motorship’s tradition, at the start of a new year we look back over the past year and forward to prospects for the next.
Never has this been a more difficult task. 2009 was painful in many respects, and to avoid feeling too depressed we are looking at shipbuilding not worldwide, but taking one country – Germany – as a barometer. The Asia Pacific nations are, on the surface, not doing too badly. But as we all know this is based on an order backlog (and is of course subject to cancellations, failure to exercise options, and rescheduling). New orders have been scarcer than ever before.
It’s not unreasonable to look at Europe, from where shipbuilding has moved east. European yards are in a difficult position now, and with the lack of new orders it will not be long before Korea and China suffer in the same way.
At least until orders pick up again – shipping has always been a cyclical business and there is no reason to think that at some time in the next few years things will turn around once again. What nobody knows is when.
It may be over-optimistic to think that the UN climate change conference – COP15 – that had just started as we wrote this will be good news for shipping. The sea is by far the most fuel-efficient way of transporting goods over a long distance. It would be a disaster if shipping gets saddled with penalties, such as carbon taxation, that other industries escape, and that reduce its competitive advantage.
There is plenty of scepticism about global warming, but whatever the rights and wrongs our industry could still benefit greatly from legislation to improve its efficiency. Modern, fuel-efficient designs would supplant ageing rustbuckets, and the finite fossil fuel resources can be eked out for a few more years.
We joined some of the rest of the marine press to view a showpiece ‘green ship’ at COP15 – the fuel-cell equipped Viking Lady. The irony is not lost on us that we added to global warming by flying to see a pollution-reducing vessel. We’d rather go by rail and sea, which is possible, but takes too long and costs too much. Scope for a re-think perhaps by the COP15 world leaders, to help the cleanest modes of transport to also be more convenient and cost-effective?
Bill Thomson
