CARL SCHOU
Chief executive, Wilhelmsen Ship Management
We see a great potential for traditional shipmanagers and renewable energy — especially offshore wind.
By bringing the 'traditional' shipmanagement operating model to the offshore wind sector, we are able to reduce costs for the operators. We have invested in an offshore wind company earlier this year and it is progressing well.
With coming concerns on compliance to IMO 2020; environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria; data protection regulation; and cyber security threats, we feel that the ship management industry will gradually differentiate itself between the “nuts and bolts” managers and the ones offering a complete professional service.
The industry is requesting high level quality driven services that is only achievable by the larger players with established set up.
Sustainable finance
Sustainable financing will increasingly play a bigger influence in shipping. Owners will be looking to build greener shipping assets and greater scrutiny to sustainably manage a ship’s entire life cycle.
A shipmanager will play a major part in managing the total life cycle where we can support and complement the owner’s sustainability agenda.
We are implementing recommendations to address climate-related financial disclosures and integrating ESG factors into our business value chain.
Digitalisation will continue to be a strong driver in the industry. We are already seeing 'digital and data-driven' operating models, which drive quality, transparency and cost.
This will become the normal business requirement moving ahead.
This is part of a multi-sector series on shipping industry outlook for the decade ahead. Read the full report in this week's print edition.
