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Insights from the Singapore Maritime Week Leaders Perspectives

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Calls for acceleration towards green shipping against the backdrop of IMO’s 2030 targets, as well as strategies to manage change and transformation were among the key themes discussed at the SMW Leaders’ Perspectives panel discussion on the opening day of the Singapore Maritime Week.

Moderated by Mr. Rashpal Bhatti, VP, Maritime and Supply Chain Excellence of BHP, C-suite leaders from BW Group, ING Bank, Ocean Network Express and Shell Singapore shared their views on the impact of transformation in the areas of sustainability, finance and talent. 

The panel comprised of:

  • Mr. Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman, BW Group
  • Ms. Aw Kah Peng, Chairman, Shell Singapore
  • Mr. Jeremy Nixon, Global CEO, Ocean Network Express (ONE)
  • Mr. Stephen Fewster, Global Head, Shipping Finance, ING Bank
From left; Mr. Jeremy Nixon, Mr. Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Mr. Rashpal Bhatti, Ms. Aw Kah Peng and Mr. Stephen Fewster
Accelerating Maritime Decarbonisation

More than a buzzword, decarbonisation is a reality that industries—including maritime—have to grapple with. Mr. Bhatti opened with the question of what needs to happen for maritime to hasten its decarbonisation journey.

The panellists unanimously agreed that maritime has to act now. Mr. Sohmen-Pao and Ms. Aw highlighted how actions taken by the industry require a significant lead time to mature. Research and development of greener fuel options are happening at this moment. However, questions on cost, large scale availability and safe handling of new fuels must be addressed.

Building on Mr. Sohmen-Pao’s point on the large-scale availability of green fuels, Ms. Aw emphasised that Singapore would have to build infrastructure that supports the bunkering of new fuels. Approaches such as utilising Singapore’s existing supply chains, infrastructure or technology and adapting them to accommodate new fuels may be considered.

We need to look beyond fuels but also the technology that will enable it. Look at it as energy in totality and the broader range of technology that is available to us”

Ms. Aw on how Singapore can handle the transition towards green fuels

Mr. Nixon noted that there are methanol- and ammonia-ready ships being manufactured but they do not have a sufficient supply of green fuel to power them. This is where financial incentives may come in to nudge organisations towards decarbonisation through measures such as levies on carbon fuels or access to financing from banks. 

Decarbonisation: In Transition

Future decarbonisation goals aside, what can maritime do at present to gradually reduce carbon emissions? To this end, Mr. Nixon suggests a few options—firstly, LNG-fuelled ships with the view that over time the ships can run on green LNG when it is made available. Next, a dual-fuel methanol engine ship or build ships that run on oil but can be retro-fitted when green fuels are in commercial production. 

Concurring, Ms. Aw suggested that on an organisational level, companies can examine their internal capacities to drive efforts towards reaching decarbonisation targets. Joining the topic, Mr. Fewster observed that if more “plug-and-play” modular ships are developed, banks will be able to design new financing mechanisms to support such changes. 

Greening Maritime with Financing Options

Moving into the topic of green financing, Mr. Fewster acknowledged the difficulties of obtaining green qualifications for ship financing. Instead, banks are able to offer sustainability-linked loans that track the environmental performance of shipping companies and tag their interest rates based on organisational improvements. 

Banks are able to take credit risk but not so much innovation risks. What we need to do is allocate risks to parties that can take them. For example, technical risks should go to shipyard and engineer operators while operating risks lie with shipowners… there has to be a sharing of risks from an equity and interest perspective

Mr. Fewster speaking on the role that financing plays in supporting green innovation.
Attracting and Retaining Maritime Talent

With seismic shifts shaking up the sector, the panel agreed that recruiting practices must evolve to attract the right pool of talent. In Ms. Aw’s point of view, hiring broad-based talent with diverse skillsets and attracting more females are at the top of her mind.  

The challenges that maritime faces are complex and will benefit from a diverse of perspectives—a sentiment that strongly echoed by Mr. Fewster and Mr. Sohmen-Pao. Besides attracting talent, organisations will have to cultivate an environment that not only provides employees with exposure but also one where networking is encouraged and rife with collaboration.

To retain talent, Mr. Nixon shared that ONE is looking at rotational practices across its organisation, teams and geographies for employees to take on fresh challenges. As digitalisation becomes integral to maritime organisations, Mr. Sohmen-Pao cautioned against tunnel vision when recruiting fresh talent. Digital experts are no doubt essential but for a healthy and vibrant maritime ecosystem, he stresses the importance of attracting diverse experts that fulfil different nodes.

In a fractured world, we need more supply chain experts and lawyers to navigate sanctions. In a world of stagflations, we will need more commercial and finance people that manage finance and risk. In a world of pandemics, we will need great human resource and crewing teams”

Mr. Sohmen-Pao on how the contributions of a diverse team of experts are what will ensure the continued success of maritime

Make a change with maritime and discover purposeful career and internship opportunities through the MSC Maritime Career Portal today: https://www.maritimesgconnect.com/

*Photo Credits: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

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