The Sanmar Group played a considerable role in the proceedings of the World Shipping Forum conducted by the Chennai branch of the Institute of Marine Engineers (India) at Hotel Le Royal Meridien, Chennai, during 18-20 November 2004.
K Shankar looks on as Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala declares the conference open.
While the group’s Vice Chairman N Kumar delivered one of the keynote addresses, three senior executives of Sanmar Shipping were important resources in the conduct of the forum. K Shankar was a member of the Core Strategy Board, C V Subba Rao, the convenor of the forum, and B Jayakumar, a member of the souvenir committee. The marine symposium is a quadrennial event conducted by the Chennai branch of the Institute, and this year, the event titled the World Shipping Forum, bore the theme of The Changing Business Model in the New Economy.
Gurcharan Das and N Kumar flank the Governor.
The Governor of Tamil Nadu, Surjit Singh Barnala, was the chief guest at the inaugural function. M Raman, IAS, Chairman and Managing Director, Ennore Port, presided over the function. The eminent writer and management consultant Gurcharan Das made a thoughtful and incisive
presentation which focused on the macro picture of globalisation to show how the growth rate in India has been far ahead of world figures. The roles of the Indian marine engineer and the Institute were brought out in speeches by K A Simon, President, Institute of Marine Engineers (India) and Thomas Varghese, Chairman, Chennai branch. Delegates from Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, UAE, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, USA and Canada exchanged their views on the various topics under discussion. The entire show was managed by a very young team of marine engineers led by Thomas Varghese and C V Subba Rao, Convenor. Over 30 sponsoring and cosponsoring organisations, 15 exhibitors and over 200 delegates ensured the success of the event.
Some observations by Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala
“Ships dominate international trade. They are ideally suited for transportation of goods. Ships enjoy enormous economies of scale and advantages. They can potentially achieve satisfactory financial results. It only takes 28 crew members to operate a vessel of 300,000 tonnes.”
M Raman, IAS, Chairman & MD, Ennore Port, delivering the presidential address.
“It is ironic that though India is the largest supplier of trained officer manpower to the world maritime industry, the big manning companies are headquartered in countries like Hong Kong and Singapore. A larger Indian fleet could change this and motivate manning companies to relocate in India.”
A section of the distinguished audience.
Nine changes that shipping needs
i. Estimating earnings based on demand for products and supply of vessels is going straight out of the window. Agility and adaptability will win the battle more than long term and medium term planning.
ii. Long-term perspective plans are on the sunset mode. Ability to win everyday is crucial. Businesses need to be nimble, fast acting and agile.
iii. The balance of economic power is changing. In simple English, read “China”: a country of over 1.2 billion people with a GDP growth rate of over 13%! Understand China and India if you want to strike it big.
iv. With high oil prices alternative energy sources such as gas will be exploited and transported. Whatever the fuel, it will be an opportunity for the transportation sector.
v. BIG will become beautiful in the days to come. The shipping industry needs to be proactive and consolidate through mergers or through other trade
arrangements such as pooling.
vi. Opportunities will bring threats like the high probability of terrorism affecting the transportation sector. Nations will tighten their security measures and implement regulations which all of you will need to comply with, leading to additional costs, enhanced training.
vii. Environmental awareness will grow. Issues of pollution, clean seas, green demolition, worker safety in shipyards will grow louder. Ability to adapt to them should be a significant factor in your business model of tomorrow.
viii. Manpower is scarce, particularly in the developed countries. Shipping needs to build learning organizations. Knowledge sharing through IT could play a critical part.
ix. Your customers are going to look at how you do business before associating with you. Majority are large sized. Do you have systems for logistics, talent
retention, security, corporate governance and ethics in place?