Commercial Shipping: Predictions for 2023
As the world began to emerge from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic at the start of 2022, a return to normality was expected and hoped for by many working in the maritime industry. That hope was quickly dashed by developments including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a global cost-of-living crisis. Now, at the start of a new year, we look at some predictions for the commercial shipping industry in 2023.
Low freight rates, a decline in consumer demand and the looming potential for an all-out global recession will conspire to pose numerous challenges for the operators and owners of commercial seagoing vessels. This will mean that such operators and owners will need to focus on controlling expenditure by taking a more proactive role in business management.
Ports play a pivotal role in commercial shipping, representing as they do the connection between the land/sea supply chain infrastructure. Numerous supply chain issues have seen ports brought into the spotlight recently, revealing to the public just how important they are in terms of shipping trade.
In 2023, ports are predicted to further embrace digitisation, sharing data in real-time right across the entire supply chain with the purpose of improving both efficiency and resilience. This move towards digitisation will make cyber-security ever more important, resulting in extra investments in this sector.
More shipping companies will invest in artificial intelligence and advanced voyage-optimisation technologies, a move that will highlight a growing skills gap in the maritime sector. To fill these gaps, maritime companies will seek to recruit new talent from adjacent sectors and there will be an influx of project managers and decision makers who will help to drive digital maturity.
Commissioned by the Maritime Just Transition Task Force, a new report from DNV suggested that 'the energy and digital transitions [in the maritime sector] will generate huge demand for training'. Some projections related to the uptake of alternative, environmentally-friendly fuels will result in addition training requirements for as many as 800,000 seafarers by the middle on the 2030s. To meet this demand, companies will increasingly blend traditional physical training with virtual-reality programmes.
As we have always done, Bachmann Group will continue to evolve with the maritime sector, delivering a reliable, modern suite of services from payroll management and employee recruitment to port operations and marine training. Find out more about our services on the Bachmann Guernsey website.
