The Covid-19 pandemic has brought upon a worldwide downturn across all industries. Shipping has been particularly affected, both from an operational and a financial standpoint. In these unprecedented times, the ability of shipping firms to continue transporting vital supplies across the globe will play a pivotal role in overcoming this pandemic.
After a year like no other, TradeWinds asked 40 shipping industry stakeholders what they see for 2021 after a year beset by the coronavirus, and how the pandemic will shape shipping's future.
Over the past nine months, shipping firms were forced to become agile and adaptable against a rapidly evolving environment. They worked hard to swiftly deploy effective response strategies and initiatives. This was the case for our company as well.
The first and foremost priority for Pioneer is the safety and well-being of our crews and employees. Crew rotation has been a major challenge as port restrictions and closures around the globe were commonplace. Especially during the first months of the Covid-19 crisis, seafarers were stranded at sea for months, away from their loved ones, as strict travelling and port restrictions were imposed worldwide. In anticipation of the impending tough winter, we worked hard to successfully carry out crew changes for all our fleet’s vessels and timely relieve our seafarers on board.
In doing so, we often opted to deviate our vessels from their standard routes, or carried out crew changes at very high cost. Onshore personnel undertook enormous effort to support our crew and ensure that we continued to operate as smoothly as possible, whilst always delivering top-tier levels of performance and serving our clients’ needs.
This pandemic also made evident that remote working is an efficient and effective way of conducting business through enhanced digital means. We are thankful for our successful IT platform that has given us the ability to work remotely and manage our fleet without any issues at all. Going forward, we plan to further invest in our IT infrastructure and automations for our vessels.
While the pandemic keeps sending shockwaves across the globe affecting major industries like real estate, tourism, construction and others, demand for transportation of key supplies and commodities by dry cargo vessels will remain strong.
We have seen firm evidence of positive sentiment and higher rates, while we anticipate this trend to continue well into 2021. The current environment in the sale-and-purchase market, with good quality assets available at attractive valuations, creates opportunities for healthy shipping companies to renew their fleet and support their growth strategies.
