TV series launch

‘We may have hit the extremes for people flying to a meeting’

Wah Kwong’s Will Fairclough had plenty to say on how Covid-19 could spur greater green thinking in society at large

April 16 was the date of the second episode of the Maritime CEO Leader Series, and it took viewers to the Hong Kong home of William Fairclough, the managing director of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings, a famous name in Hong Kong shipping.

In conversations with Fairclough in the past it has always struck Maritime CEO that this UK citizen is very aware of his own carbon footprint, wincing at the thought of another flight, and so his thoughts on how the coronavirus might spur a greater green consciousness in society at large made for a fascinating TV interview.

On assessing just how seismic the current pandemic could be in terms of changing our daily lives, Fairclough pointed out that for most people in the West the coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns marked the greatest shift since the

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“The world assumed we needed carbon intensive travel to sustain the global economy ” Second World War.

Likewise, he observed: “The financial crisis still burns brightly in all of our minds and we talk about it pre- and after the financial crisis. This will go down at least as the same in terms of impact.”

Fairclough hailed the financial resilience of shipping compared to aviation and other transport sectors during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The shipowner highlighted how shipping might accelerate more rapidly towards a greener future thanks in part to the spread of Covid-19.

Fairclough reckoned the outbreak could could fast forward a number of trends, while also saying: “We may have hit the extremes in terms of the extent people feel the need to jump on an airplane simply to attend a meeting.”

“The extent to which the world assumed we needed carbon intensive travel to sustain the world economy and it was not going to go away has been shown that that can stop in a couple of weeks and I don’t think anyone anywhere would have believed it could be done but it has been shown to be possible. So I believe once that enters the human psyche it does alter peoples’ perception of what is necessary,” Fairclough said.

The former Clarksons broker also spent much time during the 17-minute video discussing how shipping is keen to move on to the next phase in technology to make greener ships but investment has to be underpinned by commitments from the end-users.

“Ultimately that cost has to flow through to the consumer and that is to society at large and what this may do is alter society’s view on whether or not they’re willing to pay for it,” Fairclough said, noting greater urgency in the locked-down nations everywhere to address environmental issues. ●

PRC relocation

Maritime CEO’s China economy writer Paul French on global trade

Award-winning author and economist Paul French joined the TV show in the middle of May to put China’s economic position in a global context for viewers.

French, who has been Maritime CEO’s China economy and book review writer since the magazine launched seven years ago, is a widely published analyst and commentator

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on China.

April economic figures from China were the worst since 1976, French warned, a year when the People’s Republic suffered a giant earthquake, the Cultural Revolution was ending and Mao Zedong was ailing.

On the rebound in Chinese consumer demand, French said that while China has been the most compelling consumer story for the last 15 years, getting the nation back into buying mode would be tricky.

LARS JENSEN, ONE of the best known pundits in container shipping, has had a good coronavirus, his musings on social media read by thousands and many of his predictions proving to be correct.

The CEO of SeaIntelligence Consulting and a columnist for this magazine (see page 15), warned on an April 21 episode of the show that the container shipping sector would get hit “disproportionally” hard compared to other cargo sectors, while adding that the rebound, which he is predicting in 2021 will also be “disproportionally” sharp.

Liner shipping hit ‘disproportionally’ hard

Jensen is predicting that carriers will suffer a combined 10% volume drop this year, but he praised liners’ collective resolve thus far in holding the line on freight rates.

In terms of how coronavirus might change liner shipping Jensen argued that existing trends such as digitalisation would be accelerated by the pandemic. Manufacturing would continue to be more dispersed, Jensen said,

The situation from a global trade perspective would worsen thanks to more tariffs likely to come from Washington.

“China is clearly going to be the demon bogey man in the US election,” French said.

The UK national discussed the reality of politicians such as Japan’s Shinzo Abe calling for industries to reshore back home.

To get better supply chains running elsewhere, French said there would be pushback because of all the extra infrastructure such as roads, ports and airports that would need to be built in Western countries.

“This puts the green lobby in a bind as what are you going to do: oppose jobs? Oppose apprenticeships?Oppose economic rejuvenation?” French mused. ●

while demand centres will continue to spread beyond the main eastwest tradelanes. Peak outsourcing for container shipping was actually reached 10 years ago, Jensen pointed out. ●