18.2M - Hong Kong Shipowners Association

Chairman’s Report
The commoditization of shipping has several consequences.
One is the question of sustainability, both of the unprecedented
newbuilding orderbooks and the total dependence on China’s
physical demand for raw materials, especially with the new players
declaring that volatility is the name of the game. This results
in unprecedented challenges that are poised to knock out the
platform that traditional owners operate on; sustainability, long term
cashfl ow, partnership and emphasis on quality of management.
Secondly, the commoditization of shipping reduces ships to the
status of a commodity, where the only variable is price. There is no
premium, particularly again in the dry bulk markets, for ships that
are operated to a higher standard than that required by regulation.
What this results in is the need for more and more regulation, to
ensure that the ‘commodity’ does not slip below an acceptable
standard. We can no longer rely on ethical behavior to ensure high
standards – human ingenuity knows no bounds in the discovery
or creation of loopholes. It is our need, if we wish to continue to
operate to a desired level of quality management, to ensure that
the regulations that determine the status of the commodity are
practical, achievable and help eventually to raise the barriers to
entry to exclude all those who are not interested in maintaining the
‘ship’ in ‘shipping’.
The Association
Our Association is now 53 years old; not young, but not exactly
antiquated either. While we are mature, we are still growing and
continuing to reinvent ourselves. We are keen not to use the
success of our predecessors as laurels to rest upon, but rather as a
springboard to new levels of value-added strengths.
53
HONG KONG SHIPOWNERS ASSOCIATION YEAR BOOK 2010-2011
2010-2011
7