Improved outlook for international shipping

After a tough year of supply glut and record low rates, the global container industry is expected to grow 2 to 4 per cent this year, fuelled by a revival in freight rates amid a more balanced supply-demand scenario, predicted Mr Rene Piil Pedersen, Singapore Shipping Association council member.

The industry, however, is “not yet out of the woods”, and any downward movement in oil prices may turn the tide, cautioned Mr Pedersen, who is also group representative Asia-Pacific, Maersk Group and managing director at AP Moller Singapore.

His remarks were made at a panel discussion yesterday among industry leaders on Future Proofing the Maritime Industry, in the run-up to the maritime and offshore conference organised by Seatrade and the Singapore Maritime Foundation next month.

The collapse of South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping and the subsequent wave of consolidation, which saw the field narrow to 12 major players from 20, was a wake-up call for the entire industry, said Mr Pedersen.

Going forward, digitisation and technology will transform the maritime industry, and e-commerce will change the way that business is conducted, noted Ms Tan Beng Tee, assistant chief executive (development) at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. Rumi Hardasmalani