SHIPMANAGEMENT
Bernhard Schulte: Crew safety is paramount
The safety and welfare of ship crews in the pandemic is the main priority of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (Hellas), says its managing director, Theophanis Theophanous. That said, however, shipping has proved able to weather the Covid storm as digitization, for example, has improved operational efficiency. Thus, rates are expected to rise later this year.
According to the data so far, the market shows some improvement compared to the first months of the epidemic. What exactly is happening? Have we adapted to the new situation? Have the risks been reduced? Are you afraid of the situation deteriorating due to mutations in the virus and new lockdowns? We certainly predict more positivity because of the widespread vaccine rollout and now that we are more comfortable with working conditions that became the new normal as a response to COVID-19. After handling more than a decade of challenging times, it is safe to say that shipping companies have abundant experience to draw upon and are fully capable of adapting and evolving. This is one of the reasons why Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) Hellas handled the downturns and adversities the industry faced in 2020, proficiently and at the same time, managed to limit potential detrimental consequences. The pandemic certainly accelerated the adaptation of digital technology as well as remote service provision. This paradigm shift stays with us, but not as a burden: it will enrich our industry in the long run. The next step in this area however, is to make sure we have all necessary protection in place, such as cyber security, so that we can reap the benefits of our technological advancement with minimal exposure. Any slowdown in the world economy logically has a knockon effect on the shipping industry, although the predicted COVID-19 induced market downfall turned out to be less damaging than expected. Realistically, an increase in demand and subsequent market rates should be anticipated later in 2021, due to the accumulated backlog of commodities that have not been shipped as a result of the pandemic. On the other hand, markets that thrived as a result of the global epidemic will likely return to their normal pace of business. Even with impending mutations and further lockdowns, the situation still does not foreshadow a major deterioration.
