It is the event of the year for the shipping community in Hamburg. Once again, the industry is getting together for an exchange of new ideas and products.
People are networking – making new friendships and revitalising old ones. It is one of those meeting places that makes the wheels of the industry turn.
This year, there are clouds on the horizon, financial ones, caused by the unrest in the world of finance triggered by the unrest in the US capital markets. It may not really have hit the shipping world yet, but one effect could well be an increased cost of capital. This could put a squeeze on the operating margins of the many owners that charter out their ships to carriers.
So DNV’s ambition is to make a contribution that will alleviate the situation, through cost-effective tools that contribute to safe and reliable container shipping. In the wake of the Napoli accident, there are still some challenges to be met. Hull integrity remains a challenge, and good stewardship means taking a prudent and pro-active approach. We talk about our revamped Hull Integrity Management system for container ships in this issue. DNV was the first to introduce this system some seven years ago. Our Energy Management service is now being successfully introduced to carriers, resulting in close to double digit percentage fuel savings. The latest trend is for carriers to stipulate fuel consumption requirements for the ships they are going to charter, so this may well affect tramp owners as well.
And there is more. Let’s meet at our stand at SMM 2008 – Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology – to discuss these issues further. If you are not visiting SMM, please drop me a line at knut.dohlie@dnv.com. I look forward to seeing you.