What does the Digital Revolution mean for the maritime industry and what are the technologies that drive innovation? For the second time, the Maritime Future Summit will kick off SMM with a top-class cast to discuss chances and challenges
More than 2,200 exhibitors from 66 countries and around 50,000 trade visitors from more than 120 nations are expected at[ds_preview] this year’s SMM trade show in Hamburg. One key subject will be »Smart Shipping«, which will also be covered by the »Maritime Future Summit« that is once again co-organized by HANSA. For the second time after 2016, the Summit will mark the start of SMM with a cast of top class panellists. High level experts and executives from different parts of the industry spectrum will present and discuss challenges and innovations that are likely to shape the shipping industry of the future. »With the ›Maritime Future Summit‹ we give the SMM actors room to think the previously unthinkable,« says Bernd Aufderheide, CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress.
From digitalisation and big data through to Artificial Intelligence (AI), new technologies have the potential to revolutionise global shipping. »Mind the gap – bridging disruptive technologies« is the appropriate theme for the Maritime Future Summit (MFS), which will take place on 3 September. SMM, the leading international maritime trade fair, will open its doors the following day. At the MFS, two high-profile expert panels will discuss how digitalisation and other megatrends can be leveraged to make the shipping business more transparent and efficient, and how to best prepare the sector for the future.
In 2016, the future looked like …
The first ever »Maritime Future Summit«, co-hosted by HANSA, kicked off SMM in 2016. More than 120 industry experts attended the event. A quick look back shows, how topics have evolved within two years. One of the high-ranking speakers was autonomous shipping guru Oskar Levander, VP Innovation of Rolls-Royce Marine. »In ten years we will have the first unmanned commercial application. Maybe in 20 years 10% of the world fleet will be unmanned,« Levander said back then. Paolo Tonon, VP Head of Maersk Maritime Technology, could not totally agree with the tech enthusiast: »I don’t forecast a containership without a crew, at least re-design of ships and components will take 30 to 40 years,« Tonon said. It is worth noting at this point that the world’s first autonomous – and zero-emission – containership »Yara Birkeland« is due to be launched next year. Admittedly just a coastal carrier, but everybody has to start at some point.
Denis Morais, president and CTO of shipbuilding software provider SSI saw shipbuilding at a tipping point, as a whole collection of different drivers pushes for innovations: »Innovation will accelerate itself and we will have more and more tools in our toolbox to solve problems.« In his opinion, infinite computing will open up new possibilities and integration of customers in the design process will ensure faster feedback loops.
Willie Wagen, Director Market Innovation, Wärtsilä, saw »the marine industry under disruptive attack« by trends such as digitalization and green technologies. But, in line with all panellists, rather than challenges, he saw chances for new business models for old players – and for new ones, that enter the market with new ideas.
Keynote speaker Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL – Maritime, also predicted an increasingly complicated framework for shipping. To tackle the environmental and economic challenges in the shipping industry, Matthias Schulze, Head of Siemens Marine, proposed hybrid ships as a solution. He pointed out the need to adopt several approaches for the best possible solution. Future-oriented green and innovative shipping projects have a good chance to attract investors, as became clear when Carsten Wiebers, Global Head of Maritime Industries, KfW IPEX, explained the position of a major financer.
Whatever the ship of the future will look like: digitization and big data will enable it. Benjamin Vernooij, Internet of Things and End User Computing Lead, Dell OEM Solutions, shared his thoughts on the challenges that huge amounts of data collected by sensors will bring. »Gathering the data is nothing new or complex anymore, but how to make use of the data and get value out of it,« he asked.
What is the situation of the maritime industry two years later, what has been achieved technology-wise?
Business in disruptive markets
At this year’s MFS, Hubert Hoffman, CIO and CDO of MSC Germany, will speak about »New thinking in shipping – a liner company’s perspective«. As Hoffmann stated in a previous interview with HANSA (see issue 12/2017), he is convinced that the »old economy« is capable of having smart start-up ideas, too. »The world is different today, but shipping and logistics still work with a 1930s mind-set. We have to think differently and keep asking if we are still on the right course,« he said. Shipping should come up with own solutions – before others do – and MSC wants to be at the forefront when processes in shipping are turned upside down. Certainly Hoffmann can be expected to spark most interesting discussions at the Maritime Future Summit.
The business side of shipping has to adapt to digital trends and maybe widen its focus from being just an ocean carrier to covering more parts of the supply chain – and to first and foremost do so more efficiently, harnessing the technological possibilities of the 21st century. Internet giants like Google, Amazon or Alibaba may have their digital technology but nobody knows ocean transport markets better than maritime companies themselves. The best ways for shipping companies and ports to position themselves in disruptive markets will be the subject of a lecture by Mikko Lepistö, Director of Software and Automation Operations at ABB Marine and Ports Business.
Christian Roeloffs, Managing Director of Container xChange, will explain how increasing network integration of all stakeholders and an ever more sophisticated supply chain management approach can improve efficiency, ultimately building competitive advantage through lower costs.
Ulf Siwe is one of those who strive to make shipping more efficient and safer from an authority point of view, introducing new and smart technology to the sector. Siwe is the leader of the Swedish Maritime Administration’s project Sea Traffic Management and has titled his presentation »Beyond Sea Traffic Management – a vision for future shipping«. The EU-funded STM project aims to standardize information exchange and enable interoperability between ships’ and ports’ systems. By providing vessels with the ability to see each other’s planned routes, navigators also can see how surrounding vessels influence their own voyage. Using these data, other services would be able to produce valuable information and offer advice to vessels on their routes.
Currently the validation phase is running to demonstrate the concept in large-scale tests. Ultimately, standardised information sharing will be a key element in the logistics network and have a significant impact on trade flows and business models, the people behind Sea traffic management think.
Autonomy arrives
A few years ago, autonomous shipping seemed to many like a castle in the air, that only not so down-to-earth enthusiasts dreamed about and wasted money on – let alone the danger for traditional seafarer’s jobs, that many saw. Today, the maritime world has seen the first real world remote and autonomous operations of vessels. Numerous research institutes and companies are currently conducting intense research into autonomous shipping, authorities in a growing number of countries have established dedicated test areas at sea or are planning to do so. According to the SMM Maritime Industry Report (MIR), one third of responding decision-makers in shipping companies believe that unmanned ships can realistically be expected to be in commercial use within the next 20 years. The afore-mentioned initial tests have proven that the technology is basically available – only regulation seems to lag behind, partially stemming from the time when ships still used sails. So, who will be liable if something goes wrong with an unmanned vessel? In his speech »Autonomous shipping – legislation and liability« Wu Sun from the Chinese Classification Society CCS will examine the technical and legal aspects.
What else is on the horizon ship technology-wise? The Japanese National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI) has conducted a comprehensive research project. Its scientific director Kohei Matsuo will present the results. The »Technology Roadmap to 2050« will provide some insights into the changes innovative technologies will bring about for both, the shipping and shipbuilding segments. Under the aegis of the Japan Ship Technology Research Association (JSTRA), the scientists studied innovative technologies from a variety of industries and countries. New technologies from all sectors – some untested so far, some already successfully deployed – might turn out to be incremental for the development of ships of the future. In 2017, Kohei Matsuo has won the HANSA Inspiring Visionary Award for his contribution to the HIPER conference in Cape Town. It won’t be hard for him to inspire the audience and panellists at the MFS as well.
Digitally mirroring real-world processes and events in real-time can help to push ship operation, maintenace and construction to the next level. The head of the research department of DNV GL Maritime, Pierre C. Sames, will look ahead to the year 2030: How will Artificial Intelligence and the use of Digital Twins change the way classification societies work? Design and production processes will likely change as well in the future – an interesting trend for an industry that in many respects still has not adopted a 21st century mind-set. As for manufacturing, 3-D printing technology and the evolution of Smart Factories based on process automation using robots and algorithms will cause major structural upheavals. Nick Danese, CEO of the French engineering firm NDAR, refers to this development as a »wake-up call for the shipbuilding industry«. »This topic will be supplemented by a special exhibition on 3-D printing, including live demonstrations, right here at the fair complex,« says Claus Ulrich Selbach, Business Unit Director Maritime and Technology Fairs at Hamburg Messe und Congress.
»The Maritime Future Summit is of vital interest to any stakeholder of the maritime sector who wants to remain competitive,« says Krischan Förster, Editor-in-Chief of HANSA – International Maritime Journal, which is once again the media partner of the MFS. The event will be chaired by Professor Volker Bertram of World Maritime University. During the subsequent four days, SMM visitors will be able to study in practice at the Hamburg Messe fair complex what the panel experts have discussed in theory, for example by following the Digital Route. Numerous technical innovations will be on display, there will even be a demonstration area for 3D printing. »Trends in SMMart Shipping«: The theme for this year’s leading international maritime trade fair definitely taps the pulse of the industry.
