Page 30 - 2022 - Q2 - Minerva in Focus

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) IN SHIPPING
Forward-thinking: Security and

Operations in a Changing World

The ancient Chinese philosopher Confu- We are currently in a heightened risk environ- • A scale-up in the development and de-
cius once said: “He who gives no thought ment with alarming trends, which entail: ployment of new technology, creating new
to distant concerns will soon find trou- vulnerabilities in the already high levels of
bles close by.” • A boom in shipping following the recovery cyber security threat.
from the pandemic, meaning we see the
Under today’s geopolitical and socio-environ- working life of some vessels being extend- In light of the above, there is no room
mental pressures, we are facing urgent and ed and a labour shortage. At the same for mistakes or complacency. Therefore,
rapid changes that demand compliance with time, port congestion is putting crews and pro-active security risk management and
ever-tightening requirements, which implies facilities under enormous pressure and operational efficiency must be addressed
heightened responsibility for ensuring credi- depletes morale. across the company by defining strategy,
bility, stability, and operational success. • Attempts to scale up in alternative fuels, policy development, and the implementa-
necessitating training in novel procedures tion and monitoring of both. That means
To navigate these new and dramatic changes, and protocols. With more procedures that all security vulnerabilities and oper-
pressures, and unpredictability, the timeless come more accidents – a report from Al- ational deficiencies must be continuously
and far-sighted ancient Chinese proverb must lianz states that 75% of shipping incidents mapped out, addressed, and improved
be our ethos in tackling the knock-on effects involve human error. upon for a company to consistently comply
of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the COVID-19 • Changes in demand, trade patterns and ac- with industry requirements and withstand
pandemic, and decarbonization efforts to tivities coupled with high commodity prices the increased demands and risks of the
fulfil net-zero ambitions. and inflation creating a complex web of changes in the global environmental and
threats across the value and supply chains. socio-political climate.
Crisis management resources must also be
pre-emptively established and allocated
in an effective security and operations
management system, which should not be
swept under the rug for the benefit of com-
mercial greed. In the event of a genuine
catastrophe, of which history shows plenty,
efficient consequence mitigation itself
proves to be vital and therefore cannot be
an afterthought.
Thus, Confucius’ age-old wisdom is pre-
cisely the forward-thinking approach we
need to address the challenges in shipping
today, which extends to every industry par-
ticipant in the entire value chain/supply
chain. For a truly viable way forward, secu-
rity and operations management solutions
and standards must be devised to allow
a company to be stable and streamlined
in its operations and agile and flexible in
response to existing and emerging security
and business challenges with resilience,
consistency, and credibility.

by Diaplous Group

30 MINERVA IN FOCUS – ISSUE 20 / Q2 2022