FOR an industry so generously endowed with buoyant egos, it is perhaps surprising that shipping has never been great at self promotion.

Perhaps it is the fragmented nature of the sector, or the deeply private, often opaque structures within it, but the industry’s many success stories do not often enough receive an airing in the wider world.

The sight of Maersk launching its latest dual-fuelled methanol container vessel this week should have been a platform for the wider industry to wax lyrical about the genuine advances in technology and innovation that have been made.

Instead, Maersk, like everyone else is getting its message tied up in the hedge-betting caveats about how the energy transition depends on the availability of competitive green fuels, coupled with the right regulatory International Maritime Organization-based framework. All true of course, but hardly the stuff of sexy headlines shining a light on innovation.

This week, via a special two-part podcast series, Lloyd’s List has been considering the status of innovation in the maritime sector and we have found much to get excited about.

Generative AI and machine learning have yet to revolutionise decision making, operational efficiency and automation in the industry — but once they do, their impact will be swift and significant. This next phase of innovation will introduce new ways of working, driving measurable improvements in efficiency.

But the technology, although interesting, is arguably the least important part of this shift.

Joining the dots between data that previously existed in siloes is not just an exercise in speeding up existing business models — it is opening up the possibilities of making the entire value chain more efficient.

While Maersk and everyone else are struggling to move ahead with conviction until scalable sustainable fuels emerge, perhaps that is the wrong priority for the moment.

This is the point at which we should be prioritising innovating the commercial drivers that influence value creation to effectively reduce fuel consumption. As many have pointed out of late, by updating its commercial contracts, the shipping industry can facilitate further reductions in fuel consumption, while simultaneously increasing investments in its crewing and technical management.

The DSF model encourages new commercial mechanisms that allow “fuel not used” to become an equity kicker that rewards energy efficiency beyond lower fuel costs. The wider question of how you use technology to create new revenue streams in the industry then becomes that much simpler.

Technology may be the catalyst to some of this, but shipping’s real innovations have always sat in its adaptability and pioneering approach to problems.

That is something we can be proud of and should be shouting about much more.

Richard Meade
Editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List

Click here to view the latest Lloyd’s List Daily Briefing