by Przemysław Myszka
We have managed to cram another corona year under our belts. Compounding misfortune with an error, the (container-dependent) global supply chain is in disarray, among other things, thanks to bolts from the blue like the Suez Canal blockade. As such, I won't wish you this holiday season for things in 2022 to reset to some pre-pandemic "normal." Instead, what we all probably need are resilience and grit, the power to quickly get up from a setback, with a bit of luck stronger than before, and push forward no matter the odds.
Maybe the best-selling author Mike Mason is correct: hope is overrated (to put it mildly). Alternatively, perhaps our resources should be shifted towards dedication, say, to a cause greater than ourselves. For ports & shipping, it most likely means greening their operations while avoiding the pitfalls, among others, investing in unsafe solutions, the use of which is also fruitless. In this case, I highly recommend three reads from the current issue. First and second, the Maritime's Creatively worried. Managing maritime safety risk during the digital and fuel transformation and Technology's 'D' stands for future. Towards port digitalisation and decarbonisation. Third, the Report's Battle royal. The decoupling of China, EU, and US economies - as not all that rarely is the transport industry, plus its customers, caught in the political crossfire.
On a good note, certain companies are already gaining experience in very, very future-oriented logistics, such as handling containers for the human exploration of Mars. Yup, you read that right. Though we are writing about it in Transport miscellany, do not treat it lightly nor as a sci-fi curiosity. The story we are bringing forth was some heavy-duty stuff taking place in surroundings that were picked to mimic the harsh environment of the fourth rock from the Sun.
The rest of the article round-up is a mix of encouragement, caution, and, naturally, old faithful statistics. For the last one, head directly to our summary of European and Baltic shipyards' performance in 2020 (with the pandemic, unfortunately, leaving its upsetting imprint here as well). Boston Consulting Group writes about the (affordable) potential supply chains bear in the fight against climate change. A Sustainability piece spotlights how HaminaKotka transforms its port economy towards a more circular model. Another article from the column touches upon the safety of working in life-threatening circumstances onboard ships. Luckily, it also shows how technology can improve the situation, including attracting fresh talent to seafaring and teaching salty dogs new tricks. Similarly to upskilling, freight shouldn't be abandoned either, as sadly evidenced by the death-dealing explosion in the Port of Beirut. In the Legal section, you will find more about the risks surrounding leaving behind cargo - and how to avoid them. Concerning technology, our friends from Deltamarin share the results of their and Wärtsilä's ferry carbon capture study. The Logistics part highlights how a resilient and transparent supply chain management will shape the future of maritime logistics, while another of the column's reads scrutinises other than theft threats to cargo operations in Europe. We also host an interview with Samskip's Kari-Pekka Laaksonen on how a European multimodal company addresses the many challenges the world throws at it - COVID, Brexit, digitalisation, and the strive for greater sustainability, to name but a few.
A Colossal Thank You for having journeyed with us! I wish you a peaceful end of this year and 2022 that won't put the skids under your activities. On our part, we will continue to report on the latest from across the Baltic, Europe, and the wide world. Meanwhile, have the most fantastic read(s)! Cheers to all the good things and confusion to misfortune! See you soon as one year goes out and the new hops in.
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