TradeWinds Shipowners Forum

Shipowners seeking to optimise their fleet and operations will have to navigate through a significant degree of uncertainty in the coming years. In parallel with having to comply with a raft of new EU and IMO regulations, whose full impact has yet to be seen, a lack of clarity over fuel and technology is complicating the ability of owners to make sound investment decisions. Is it worth ordering a dual-fuel vessel at a higher cost, with so many open questions about availability and whether the supporting technology and infrastructure will be in place? How can investments be de-risked? Should owners engage with new innovations by emphasizing the life-cycle costs, or should there be greater focus on harnessing the technologies already on the market today?

The TradeWinds Shipowners Forum Germany returned to shipping’s premier engineering and tech expo on 3 September to ask the big questions on when and how the cash-rich industry should spend its profits, and develop a holistic strategy for long-term commercial success.