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An amazing shipbuilding shift
At the end of this month, the European Shipbuilding industry launches the European Shipyard Week. The scope is to show the general public what an amazing 180 degree shift this industry has made in just a couple of years. Gone is the old industry, always in crisis and always crying out for state subsidies. Today it’s an industry ready to meet future challenges with confidence in its competence, development abilities and with a lot of belief in the future.

This is good for Europe. Some 50,000 people work at the shipyards and a further 250,000 persons are employed by sub-contractors. The industry has a turnover estimated to close to EUR 35 million.

Maritime transport is a prerequisite for a positive development, social and economic, in Europe. More than 90 per cent of the external trade is carried over seas and more than 40 per cent of the internal trade is moved by sea. The latter is also something where the EU institutions want to see a significant increase. If the competitiveness of waterborne transport systems is to be increased, technological development, smarter systems and more efficient vessels are required. This is one of the main reasons why a solid European shipbuilding industry is essential for Europe. We need shipbuilding competence, especially if our goals for the environment and transport efficiency are to be met.

Only a couple of years ago, the European shipbuilding was regarded as a candidate for extinction, but it has risen again like a phoenix and last year, the order books at the European yards increased more than in any other shipbuilding region in the world.

One reason is that the yards in the east have been working at full capacity while there was spare capacity in the West, which is now being filled at even higher shipbuilding prices. At the same time, the level of activity has been high in the newbuilding markets where European yards have been strong, e.g. special-type tonnage and passenger/cruise ships.

It’s in these markets the industry sees its future. In Waterborne, a number of stakeholders in European waterborne activities such as shipping, shipbuilding, leisure and ocean exploitation, have come together to develop a platform and a strategy for the future.

In its vision for 2020, European marine manufacturing industry is still to be a world leader in systems and equipment as well as in selected high value added ship building market segments.

Innovation, R&D, competence and quality are to keep European shipbuilding at the leading edge of competition.

The good times of today will of course not last forever. The industry must continue on its winning path by improving efficiency and by technology, business and work organisation development. We will see a continuing consolidation of the industry to meet the challenges of a tougher future and stiffer competition. Free capacity will inevitably increase at established Asian shipbuilders, who will return in force to the market, followed by emerging shipbuilding nations as India and Vietnam. When their orderbooks diminishes, they will not restrict themselves to competing for lower value added standard ships. Then we’ll get a competition benchmark for European shipbuilding.

//Rolf P Nilsson

No understanding of shipping importance
“War is too important to be left to the generals”, said the French prime minister Georges Clemenceau. The same is apparently applicable to shipping and national economists. An expert committee has now filed their findings on taxation of the national shipping industry to the Norwegian Government. Their report came as a shock for an industry eagerly awaiting a shipping policy which would remedy the ailing competitiveness of shipping based in Norway.

The expert committee, led by the national economist Guttorm Schelderup, has filed a report showing none understanding whatsoever of the importance of shipping and seafarers not only in Norway, but in general. This isn’t surprising since the majority of the committee members seems to have lacked any kind of shipping competence.

The committee majority recommends that shipping should be seen and treated as any other industry. All special tax systems as tonnage tax and net wages for seafarers should be removed. The majority knows that the consequences would be the end of Norwegian-based shipping and of Norwegian seafarers. They feel however safe in believing that Norwegian capital will be re-directed to other industry sectors and that Norwegian seafarers will be employable ashore. Shipping services is to be imported from other countries, which have special terms for their shipping industries.

A committee minority has an entirely different view. They say that shipping taxation must be seen in a much wider perspective and, of course, they are right. Shipping can for several reasons not be compared to other industry sectors. One is that maritime transport is indispensable for all other industrial activities. Shipping and an efficient maritime transport infrastructure will be just as important for Norwegian industry the day after the last shipowner has moved abroad and the last Norwegian seafarer has gone ashore. To give up maritime competence, which has been built up for centuries, and the development of an industry that is fundamental to the society shows a total lack of perspective.

Maritime safety and environment protection will also be just as important for Norway. These are internationally regulated issues, but if Norway eradicates its maritime sector Norway will also give up all influence at the international level. Norway is a leading environmentally aware nation. We need more of those, not fewer. A strong Norwegian shipping industry in Northern Europe is good for Norway, for the environment, and for the rest of the world.

The rest of Europe and the committee minority has understood why shipping is important and why it can and should be treated by different rules, and hopefully so will the Norwegian Government. The report should be placed where it belongs, in the trash bin.

//Rolf P Nilsson