Truce in the ongoing US-China trade war, waivers on the imposed sanctions against Iran for a 6 month period, intense tanker freight rates recovery and OPEC’s agreement to curb production as well as record US shale production and capesize sector countercyclical downturn have been the most notable events over the last quarter of 2018.

The coming Sulphur Cap 2020 and the existing regulations for Ballast have created a huge demand of these systems in the global shipping. Already we are the middle of this new era and all the shipping companies are facing these challenges in practice. A lot of shipping companies are operating scrubbers & ballast systems and already there is a huge turbulence as it concerns installation ( especially in retrofits ) , operation & maintenance of these systems.
 
As always happens when a new need arises , the market is coming to fill the gap. The time from R&D and production has minimized a lot due to the circumstances and the new technologies. So manufacturers of every field even not relevant with their main activity are coming to introduce a product , to apply for the certification and to be able to sell to the market this that have designed. The expectations of profit in a generally healthy market ( marine market ) , the fact that funds and investors are seeking for the golden opportunities , these are facts that are attracting new comers able to give to the market a series of products and to fulfil this urgent need of shipowners & shipyards.
 
But is the equation so simple ? It is just a matter of time of R&D and certifciation , the manufacturers just to produce the appropriate product ? The answer is not so direct and the fact that some companies are able to launch products and to find funds in order to support their operations is not the solution.
 
The systems are installed on board in order to support operations for the complete life of the ships. Maybe for scrubbers there is a time constraint of at least 10 years but for ballast systems we are talking for at least 20 years of operations in the new ships and a lot of years and in the retrofits.
 
The systems have to be certified , in a competitive price, easy to fit,easy to use, easy to maintain on board but most important to operate economically and in the specified performace until the end of their life.
 
The time constraints brought in the market a lot of manufacturers. Already there are more than 54 IMO certified Ballast system producers and more than 28 Scrubber manufacturers promoting that they have the right solution on board. But how many of them will survive? How many of them know the specialities of the marine business? How many of them are really marine manufacturers?
 
The answer is unfortunately a few. Even good entries in the beginning , companies that took leadin the beginning , they have been obliged to abandon. The market is huge , the demand high but basic circumstances of business are applied. And these are the long term reliability and duration of continuous support  to the shipowners.
 
And these elements of success only strong, traditional marine manufacturers can supply. How companies that are not having other complimentary marine products will be able to survive after the peak of installation of these products. How they will be able to support upgrades, service network, logistics , how they will be able to support the urgent needs of the shipowners if these 54 suppliers in ballast are supporting only the new building rates of orders.
 
A few will survive in the long term and shipowners have to very careful with their choices. The history in shipping shows that in any key equipment, component are in the end 4-5 suppliers in the end that are able to give to them the right mix of product & services will make them to operate in the long term.

*Regional Manager, Service and Equipment Marine & Diesel Power, Alfa Laval

A lot has been written about the art of vessel purchase decisions. Supported by IRR (internal rate of return) and NPV (net present value) analyses, as well as an assessment of the selected sector cycle position, purchase decisions can be made with some supportive evidence.

Digitalisation is throwing up daily challenges to the shipping industry’s established order with faster connectivity and enhanced functionality driving the transparency of information flow across almost every area of the business.

Goes without saying that the data are becoming the new raw material for all business, from the small to the enterprise.

Digitalization is rapidly transforming the business of international shipping.