The biggest challenges facing German owners in the next decade will be finance and environmental regulation.
That is the conclusion of a survey of 95 German companies by auditing and consultancy company PwC Germany.
Most respondents viewed the pandemic as likely to lead to more consolidation and that it had accentuated the need for government support.
But only 14% see preparation for further pandemics as an urgent strategic issue.
Financing
The biggest challenges over the next 10 years will be financing (85%) and adapting to new environmental requirements (82%). Digitalisation follows in a distant third place (58%).
“The current crisis must not blind us to the fact that the fundamental challenges facing shipping companies will continue,” Burkhard Sommer, deputy head of the Maritime Competence Centre at PwC Germany, said.
“This includes the financing of new ships, as well as equipping existing ships with environmentally friendly technology in order to meet current and future environmental requirements.”
The majority of shipping companies had generally coped well with the first wave of the coronavirus thanks to the help of government support.
But the sustainability of the recovery in freight and charter rates remained a key question.
The further spread of Covid-19 and lockdowns once again would present shipping companies with more challenges.
Digitalisation
Almost 70 shipping companies stated that they had major problems with changing crews, or endured delays in the unloading and customs clearance of the ships.
But the accelerated pace of digitalisation in the past has contributed to overcoming these challenges.
Some 91% of those surveyed assume that the pandemic will continue to drive this trend. It is expected that the major shipping companies will continue to be the drivers of digitalisation.
“Even if many shipping companies were able to relocate their land-based business activities to the home office relatively quickly, the pandemic shows how great the need for further digitalisation is in shipping,” Sommer said.
Shipowners are cautious about growth prospects to 2025.
But they are generally more pessimistic, with only half of respondents expecting freight volumes to increase — down from 67% a year ago.
Some 12% expect a further decline in freight volume, compared with 7% a year ago.
