Editorial of Ship&Offshore 10/2024: Grasping complexity

By the time the current issue of Ship&Offshore has been finalised, the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) was holding its 82nd session in London. Once again, the discussions among the representatives are set to address important environmental issues including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy efficiency, underwater noise, and ballast water management.

One of the topics on the agenda will be a global GHG pricing mechanism in line with the requirements already in force in Europe, while owners here must by now have completed their preparations for the start of the FuelEU Maritime legislation. This will enter force in January.

These are all complex issues in an international industry that has to contend with many other challenges. In the past, the IMO has repeatedly been accused of acting too slowly, with regulations taking too long to be initiated. The fact that 176 member states with the most diverse requirements, financial resources and cultural backgrounds, had to be brought down to the lowest common denominator was often overlooked in the complaints.

This seems to be a phenomenon of our time. Whether in politics, society or business, debates heat up quickly, complex issues are ignored and whoever offers a supposedly simple solution for a section of the overall picture is applauded. Promising quick answers to the complex issues and questions of the present day is the strategy of demagogues and populists, as it currently remains quite obvious in parts of Germany, in Austria and of course the United States.

There, it is to be feared, that regardless of the outcome of the election in November, the population and, above all, Trump supporters are now so fired up that civil war-like turmoil cannot be ruled out. The big picture has not been seen there for a long time, and roughly half of the citizens may worry that pet-eating migrants seem to be the biggest threat to the world’s largest economy.

But coming back to Europe and our business: we have just made it through a “hot late summer” (which also holds true for the temperatures in some parts of Europe) with the most relevant industry events – the SMM and WindEnergy in Hamburg, the Monaco Yacht Show and the InnoTrans rail show in Berlin, all of which are important for the companies that supply and service global supply chains.

Technology developers, shipyards, research institutions, classification societies and the like have demonstrated once again that they are up to the demands of our time. Fortunately, shipowners and politicians were also very evident and contributed enthusiastically to many debates.

We need all players in the industry to work together to find adequate means to tackle today’s challenges and requirements; this was, as always, a ‘no brainer’ at the events. But society must also continue to be involved, be it in the acceptance of new fuels, such as ammonia or – as has now happened in Germany – when it comes to providing public financial support for a shipbuilder, Meyer Werft, the largest employer in the Emsland region.

Time and again, we read in the daily press or on social media that it is unacceptable to use taxpayers’ money to support the construction of polluting cruise ships. Was the outcry just as great when Lufthansa was supported with billions of euros during the Covid-19 pandemic? Or is this comparing apples and oranges? Or – as written above – are people again only seeing part of the picture because it fits in with their own world view? The state’s involvement in the Meyer Werft shipyard is right and important, not only for the employees and suppliers, but also as a signal for Germany as a longtime shipbuilding nation in the current tense environment, especially when it comes to the Asian competition. It is a location that needs to be saved, preserved and further developed.

Elsewhere in Europe, in Belfast, employees of another traditional shipyard, Harland & Wolff, are still in uncertainty if the state or another company will support the troubled builder. In July, the UK Government turned down a request for a loan guarantee that would help to lower the interest burden. Let’s hope that a solution can be found in order to prevent the loss of further shipbuilding and repair capacity in Germany and Europe.