Six in ten maritime industry professionals expect to see growing pressure to modernise their fleet for maximum energy efficiency, the latest SMM Maritime Industry Report has found.
The report, which was undertaken by SMM, a major international maritime trade fair set to take place in Hamburg next year, found that high energy costs and increasing regulatory burden are among the top issues for maritime firms, with the shortage of skilled professionals at the top of this list.
Data-driven solutions are much in demand across the industry, growing in importance by 13% compared to the previous year, with interest in artificial intelligence solutions soaring, SMM noted.
Shipowners also said that they are increasingly likely to order new ships for their fleet, with 48% saying they were either ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to do so, compared to 46% in 2023 and 39% in 2021.
The findings were published ahead of the IMO’s recent announcement that it will adjourn its decision on sustainable maritime fuels for one year.
Market expectations
The SMM Maritime Industry Report evaluated market participants’ expectations regarding the development of the shipping and shipbuilding segments, with the Maritime Industry Score measuring the difference between positive and negative expectations on a scale of -100 to +100.
The overall Maritime Industry Score stood at 50.5 points, indicating overall market optimism despite seeing a slight decline from 2023.
Of the key segments of the industry, shipyards registered the strongest confidence at 49.9 points, the highest level since the survey began, while suppliers remained at a high level of 64.6 points and shipowners stood at 34.4, which was ‘slightly more moderate’ than in previous surveys.
Volatile environment
“The volatile global political environment, marked by numerous conflicts which have a direct impact on the maritime world, is clearly leaving its mark,” commented Dr. Klaus Borgschulte, shipyard manager and chairman of the SMM Advisory Committee.
As well as sustainability, suppliers are seeing a sharpened focus on after-sales service and product longevity, the study found, with Hauke Schlegel, CEO at VDMA Marine Equipment and Systems noting that “quality is becoming the most important success factor.”
Elsewhere, Richard von Berlepsch, fleet manager at Hapag-Lloyd, commented, “Shipowners can no longer afford breakdowns. Maximum reliability is crucial, especially for non-redundant systems such as exhaust gas cleaning or ballast water management equipment.” Read more here.
