Wednesday, October 8, 2014

PORTS, CONTAINER LINES, MEGA-SHIPS

Interesting. What does this means for ports investing to handle mega-ships?


News

Singapore’s transport minister warns on growing global bottlenecks

Singapore’s transport minister warns on growing global bottlenecks
Copenhagen: With global trade growing at a rate of knots there is a risk that spending on ports will not keep up, Tuck Yew Lui, Singapore’s minister of transport warned at the inaugural Danish Maritime Forum this morning.
Lui predicted global trade will double by 2030, with shipping routes becoming more crowded than ever.
“Spending on port infrastructure is vital,” Lui said, but warned that this outlay will be competing against a rising need for housing, medical and other transport infrastructure, which could see bottlenecks rise around the world.
“Infrastructure growth will lag behind demand,” he warned.
Lui also predicted a growing use of LNG as a ship fuel in line with a global move for cleaner energies across most industries. He called for greater dialogue to get the regulations in place worldwide for LNG as a ship fuel.
“It is the responsinbility of global hub ports around the world to come together to harmonise rules and procedures for LNG as a ship fuel,” he urged.
Lui also discussed the “global challenge” of attracting the next generation of seafarers, something he thinks will be very difficult, leading to the possibibility of more automated vessels. “Will robots work alongside the crew to relieve some of the work and stress?” he mused, adding: “I think it is important we must discuss this.”
The issue of unmanned ships is one of the themes under the spotlight in our sister title, Maritime CEO's latest quarterly online poll where we ask readers six topical questions and gauge people's opinions. It takes two minutes to fill in and there is no registration. The link is below. [08/10/14]

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