Sea Asia 2015, a maritime exhibition and conference is fast approaching, where some of the port and shipping industry’s leading executives will be giving their views of the state of the shipping and offshore markets today.
Speaking at the Sea Asia event will be Khalid Hashim, Managing Director of Precious Shipping who said that low energy prices would reduce the cost of producing commodities, which could in turn boost demand, according to Seatrade Global.
Hashim said: “If oil prices stay low it means that all commodity prices will also stay low and that should increase sea borne trade and hence demand for dry bulk ships. If this surge in demand coincides with moderation in supply you could have an interesting market.”
Commenting on the port industry, PSA International CEO Tan Chong Meng said of the recent annual results: “Last year was challenging for the shipping and port industry. Global trade growth was modest and that, coupled with the introduction of many mega vessels, resulted in overcapacity and low freight rates for liner carriers.
“The increasingly large ships and complex alliances have also led to much greater operational demands being placed on port operators; this is a structural shift which will impact all ports as ships across all shipping routes continue to upsize.”
Ship orders can only add to the strain on port operations, with carriers such as Evergreen Line already joining the mega-ship club with eleven 20,000 TEU ships on order.
There is also concern that limits in crane technology and the decline of available yard space will hinder ports’ ability to keep up with the ever-increasing size of mega-ships.
