The Daily View: Political pressure

TO succeed in shipping, you must be prepared to take the world as it is, not as you would like it.

That applies as much for governments as it does the companies navigating increasingly turbulent waters right now.

As tariffs and trade measures are increasingly used as strategic tools, new regional alliances are emerging as governments and industries seek stability and advantage.

Some are better at adapting than others.

The recent exodus of tonnage leaving Hong Kong for the relative stability of neighbouring Singapore is almost certainly linked to port fees previously implemented by the US Trade Representative targeting China‑linked vessels.

That’s a blow to the Hong Kong flag, certainly, but it’s also damaging industry confidence in the Chinese special administrative region’s maritime credentials, and not for the first time.

That Hong Kong is now fighting back with plans for a dual registration system to shore up the competitiveness of its flag is a promising sign that China is prepared to back the maritime economy there.

Building successful maritime clusters takes decades of strategic planning and industrial collaboration with government.

Losing them is far easier.

Just ask the remnants of Britain’s maritime cluster, who saw more than a third of UK tonnage disappear in Brexit, followed by the long slow goodbye of shipping businesses that followed in the years of neglect that followed.

Singapore is the antithesis to Britain when it comes to maritime policy. It has proved particularly adept at promoting itself as the stable, attractive location to base maritime businesses for years. But it is also agile enough to take opportunistic swings at the competition when it sees them.

That’s because Singapore has clocked what others only realised too late, namely that maritime economies matter politically much more than they used to.

Ports and economies that can lead through agility, innovation and co-operation will not only weather today’s challenges, but they will also shape tomorrow’s trade, explained Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan Mo-po as Hong Kong Maritime Week kicked off this week.

He understands, as does Singapore, that the maritime industry is at a pivotal moment right now the consequences affect more than just shipping.

He knows that the forces shaping our future — geopolitical uncertainty, climate imperatives and technological disruption — are formidable. But so too are the opportunities if you do it right.

Getting the flagging system right is not the only answer to sustaining a maritime economy and the security that provides. But it’s a good start and where the ships go, the businesses will invariably follow if the circumstances are right.

The rapid realignment of trade to fit the realities of geopolitics as we find it, requires agility and adaptability to survive. The best among us may even get some say in what happens next if we get it right.

As the ever-pragmatic shipowner Emanuele Grimaldi noted at the same Hong Kong event on Monday: “Our role is not only to adapt but to lead. To connect, to innovate and to drive growth in a way that benefits nations and people alike.”

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

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