Environmental performance will remain one of the “ failure-is-not-an-option missions” in modern shipping amid numerous challenges in the industry, Craig Jasienski, CEO of Norway’s Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), said, predicting the outlook for 2017.
With the recent decision of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to introduce the global sulfur cap in 2020, the discussions on shipping’s role in reducing CO2 emission and the ratification of the ballast water treatment (BWT) mean that shipping will have to up the ante in terms of environmental performance, according to Jasienski.
WWL’s CEO predicted that high uncertainty will mark 2017 as the UK vote for Brexit represents a sharp change of direction in Europe and creates a more complex backdrop for European roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) trade development in 2017.
“Although direct effects might take time to be felt, the fact that we do not know what Brexit will look like creates a climate of uncertainty where decision makers are likely to err on the side of caution,” Jasienski pointed out.
Another source of uncertainty for the shipping industry is the outcome of the US election, as there is a lack of clarity around President Trump’s policies.
A positive stimulus for shipping could be seen in domestic policies such as infrastructure development, while protectionist ideas are more likely to have negative effects, Jasienski explained.
WWL CEO further said that it remains to be seen what impact European elections taking place in 2017 will have and how significant they will be for the economic development in the western world.