China Navigation Company

James Woodrow, managing director

What has been the biggest impact of the coronavirus on your company?

The impact on our routes and the need to respond to ever-changing and emerging issues, compliance with government and port regulations, and container availability.

We are naturally concerned about the possibility of Covid-19 spread in Papua New Guinea/Pacific. As a business with a long and proud association in the region, we would like to generate some discussion with like-minded stakeholders to discuss possible ways we can collaboratively protect and assist these communities.

How has the virus impacted the operation of your ships with regards to their ability to trade between ports, conduct necessary maintenance, and effect crew changes?

The safety of our offshore crew and the communities that they serve remain our top priority. From a crewing and ship-operating perspective, we continue to follow all relevant industry and government guidelines to help prevent Covid-19 transmission.

We have implemented measures to ensure contact with shore personnel is minimised. The shipyards, too, have strict protocols in place with continuous temperature screening and health checks of workers in all areas.

We are currently working on a “contactless port call” standard operating procedure in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, which will minimise or cut out completely contact between our officers and crew and any shore-based personnel.

What impact have you noticed on cargo volumes and freight rates that can be attributed to the coronavirus?

The reduction in volumes in our different markets have varied. For example, volumes related to the tourism industry in the South Pacific have reduced to almost zero. Volumes for staple food items on the other hand have held up. However, based on feedback from customers, our general forecast is that demand will significantly weaken in the short to medium term.

What impact has the virus had on your shoreside operations?

Given that Covid-19 is now a global pandemic and the safety of our colleagues is of paramount concern, we have instituted various working arrangements. Most offices are now either working from home; teams are alternating one week working and one week in the office or on minimum manning.

It has been a fairly smooth transition; technology has played a big part. As an example, in Singapore where our head office is, we are strictly following the advice of the Ministry of Health and Manpower and all staff are telecommuting.

With shipping being an inherently international business, we are better placed than some others as we already make extensive use of technology to allow collaboration between staff across the organisation.

To cover the requirements of chatting, calling, video conferencing, whiteboard and screen sharing we use a variety of tools, particularly Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp. Additionally, there are multiple immediate supply chain actions to consider in response to Covid-19.

Swire Shipping is on hand to support our customers to leverage available logistics capacity. We are working together to understand customer demand, sourcing changes and matching this with available capacity is key.

What steps have you put in place to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus on your business?

Whilst we, like many of our customers, have had to adapt our operations to the new challenges posed by the virus, we remain fully committed to keeping vital trade lanes open and to helping accommodate all our customers’ supply chain requirements during this period.

We are adopting an extremely conservative stance and are taking steps to preserve our cash to keep the business sustainable, and to continue to provide the key services and employment to the many communities and teams who depend on us.

We are currently — and critically — reviewing and prioritising all planned expenditure with a view to defer or cancel. We are also in close contact with our customers to understand their needs and to ensure that payments are promptly received.

In terms of staffing, we will recruit only where absolutely necessary.

Woodrow declined to comment on when he felt a recovery would occur and what it would look like, as he felt was too early to be able to provide a meaningful response.


Bengal Tiger Line chief executive Bill Smart says that while India will reopen, the financial damage caused by Covid-19 is not recoverable. Photo: Jonathan Boonzaier

Bengal Tiger Line

Bill Smart, chief executive

What has been the biggest impact of the coronavirus on your company?

Feeder operators to the Indian subcontinent were spared the initial impact of the extended Chinese New Year, as the immediate dearth of cargo flows was predominantly long haul followed by inter-Asia volumes.

Only when India went into lockdown was the direct depletion of exports felt, where the most significant side effect was the confusion on quarantine requirements — particularly for vessels arriving from Malaysia.

How has the virus impacted the operation of your ships with regards to their ability to trade between ports, conduct necessary maintenance and effect crew changes?

Kolkata ships were the most affected, with vessels being held at Sandheads for 10 days prior to a pilot boarding for the Hooghly River passage. Additionally, all crew receiving pilots or on the bridge had to wear exhausting full protective gear at all times.

What impact have you noticed on cargo volumes and freight rates that can be attributed to the coronavirus?

Within a week of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to close the country, there were no more exports and vessels sailed empty. Simultaneously, limited evacuation of imports created full terminal container yards, threatening congestion and the ability to discharge containers.

Resultantly, voyage costs soared and feeder losses were severe.

What impact has the virus had on your shoreside operations?

Shoreside, whilst the transshipment centres were relatively unscathed — apart from some labour shortages in Colombo — Indian ports struggled to maintain cargo flows.

What steps have you put into place to mitigate the effects of coronavirus on your business?

Whilst declaring force majeure, India’s Ministry of Shipping disallowed any implementation of recovery surcharges, making it untenable to continue some services where we have accordingly suspended operations and put vessels to anchorage.

How long do you expect the coronavirus to continue to have a negative effect on the shipping industry?

Whilst India will eventually reopen its doors, the financial damage is not recoverable and Covid-19 will continue to impact on demand, resulting in reduced sales and orders and therefore poor listings for the rest of the year.

When a recovery finally comes, what do you think it will look like?

Christmas!