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Feb 24, 2021 at 7:12 PMtime:matters looks back on a turbulent yet successful year
Feb 24, 2021 at 7:28 PMThe Association of German Shipowners (VDR) has presented its 2020 balance sheet and provides an outlook. There is a new dynamic in the shipping markets despite the pandemic. The biggest challenge for the shipping location Germany is competitiveness and climate protection.
(Hamburg) The Association of German Shipowners (VDR) has today presented new figures on the situation of German merchant shipping. On this occasion, President Alfred Hartmann and Ralf Nagel, Executive Board Member, explained the key topics on the agenda of German shipping for this year, including the shipping location Germany, seafarers during the pandemic, and climate protection.
Continuing Operations and Deliveries
Almost a year after the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, many of the larger German shipping companies are now looking optimistically to the future. “We have largely left the crisis that has occupied us since 2009 behind us and have navigated through the pandemic surprisingly unscathed in many areas so far,” said VDR President Hartmann, but added: “No one can currently predict whether the positive trend, especially in container shipping, will continue.” However, shipping has shown the significant role it plays in trade and supply during the current global exceptional situation: “We have continued operations, we have delivered, in the truest sense of the word,” said Hartmann. Germany remains the fifth-largest shipping nation in the world, with a share of 4.5 percent of the world trade fleet (-0.4 percentage points compared to the previous year). By the end of 2020, a total of 2,001 ships with 48.7 million gross tonnage were registered in German ship registers, 139 fewer than a year earlier. A large part (now more than 45%) of the German fleet’s ships now fly the flag of an EU country at the stern, particularly from Portugal, Cyprus, and Malta. The number of ships sailing under the German flag has stabilized at 290. The number of seafarers employed in Germany subject to social security has recently decreased slightly to 7,558 due to the decline in the German merchant fleet, while the number of new entrants on board remained roughly the same in 2020 despite Corona, with 409.
Location Germany: After Boom and Crisis, a New Normal
Ralf Nagel, Executive Board Member, explains: “After years of unusual growth, especially in container shipping in the early 2000s, and the subsequent decline, we now have a new normal: the German fleet is similarly strong, in many parts stronger than before this boom.” This applies to the number of ships in various segments, the number of trainees, seafarers, and shipping companies. “Despite the pandemic, we see a new dynamic in some shipping markets where German companies are active.” Therefore, reliable and supportive framework conditions for shipping at the location Germany are all the more important.
Seafarers during the Pandemic: VDR Calls for Priority Vaccinations for Seafarers
Crew changes continue to pose a significant problem not only for German shipping companies. As with goods, a logistics chain must be in place: entry and exit at a port must be permitted, there must be flights in and out of the home country, and entry into the respective home countries must be possible. “We are faced with constantly changing regulations for testing and quarantine, which makes the task enormously difficult,” says VDR President Hartmann. It is estimated that around 400,000 seafarers worldwide are still affected by the crew change crisis. Furthermore, it is becoming apparent that seafarers have not been adequately considered in the global vaccination efforts so far. “Many more countries need to grant them key worker status and vaccinate them preferentially,” demanded the VDR President: “We must not get into a situation where seafarers cannot come on board because they have not yet been vaccinated.” This would exacerbate the crew change problem, warns Hartmann: “There are risks for global trade with consequences for all of us.”
Climate Protection: EU Emissions Trading is the Wrong Approach, IMO Should Set the Course
Regarding climate protection, the VDR renewed its criticism of a regionally limited emissions trading system, as the European Union intends to propose this year. “Shipping is, like no other industry, an international industry, and therefore needs international regulations,” says Board Member Nagel. “We doubt that a regionally limited emissions trading system will achieve the crucial goal of sustainably reducing CO2 emissions. In aviation, which is already regulated in this way, this has not succeeded; on the contrary. “The German shipping industry is determined to actively support a reasonable global regulation,” Nagel affirmed: “The appropriate forum for regulation is the IMO, which has recently demonstrated that it can regulate shipping globally with the mandatory switch to low-sulfur fuels.” As an industry, we want to achieve or exceed the climate goals of the IMO where possible. The Board Member concluded: “What is crucial is that we need an energy revolution. All efficiency measures on ships are not enough; other marketable fuels are needed.”
About the Association of German Shipowners
The Association of German Shipowners (VDR) represents the common economic and social policy interests of German shipping companies at the federal and state levels as well as towards European and international bodies. The VDR was founded in 1907 and merged with the Association of German Coastal Shipowners in 1994. With around 200 members, the VDR represents the majority of the German merchant fleet.
Photo: © Loginfo24 / Image Caption: Scene from the Port of Hamburg
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