Digitalisation will “change the shipping world”, says Kurt Klemme, managing director of leading German owner Reederei Nord.
The Hamburg-based company’s view is that digitalisation will drive a higher level of automation in shipmanagement, as well as chartering, he says.
But the level of “scalability” will be limited given there are only around 60,000 oceangoing commercial vessels.
Reederei Nord, which manages vessels on behalf of the Oldendorff family and third-party interests, highlights the fact that shipping databases must consider far more parameters than simply “an App for ordering a taxi or pizza online”.
Not least draught restrictions, port regulations and crew visa restrictions.
“This will take longer than many people think,” says Klemme.
But when such a data base is achieved it will have a stronger impact than people currently imagine in terms of speed of transactions and reducing the number of personnel required onshore.
Reederei Nord’s fleet of around 55 vessels spans VLCCs, aframax tankers, chemical and products carriers, bulkers and containerships.
