The maritime industry is one of the key sectors that drives the growth of the national and worldwide economy. After the outbreak of the pandemic, most industries came to a complete standstill, but the maritime industry continued to operate and facilitated global trade. As the sector continues to show remarkable resilience and steady growth despite the impact of covid-19, the industry is also tasked with the challenge of reducing its annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2050, compared to their level in 2008. 

In order to achieve these targets, the sector has turned towards alternate fuels and digital solutions. Waleed Al Tamimi, General Manager, TASNEEF Maritime, spoke to Marasi News about the ideal solutions to meet the IMO’s targets, highlighted the advantages of the latest technologies, and threw light on classification activities post-pandemic.

1. What is your opinion on alternative fuels, their impact on the industry, and which one of them do you think is the most reliable to achieve IMO targets?

Low emission gases play a very important role as a clean alternate fuel for the industry. We have seen a significant rise in the number of ships that make use of LNG as a fuel these days, and this number is growing. Although battery operated ships are of great help in achieving IMO targets, LNG is a much more efficient option for heavy industries, especially the ones here in the UAE. 

2. How do you think digitalisation and availability of data has improved operations in the industry?

The advanced technologies that are being introduced to the industry as a result of the digital transformation of the sector are making the maritime world more efficient, productive, and reliable. With the help of the latest technologies that are available in the industry these days, we have been able to extract more data. However, with the amount of information that is available now, it is necessary to understand that its management is extremely important. In this era where we see the world shifting towards AI, it is essential to make sure that the data being provided to these AI operated systems is digested properly, so that its usage is optimised for better performance. 

The maritime industry is a sector that holds a lot of potential to adopt new technology. These latest technologies provide stability to operations and allow companies to explore new ways of doing business. If you look at the offshore industry in particular, the companies are looking for solutions in order to increase productivity, and are looking for better ways of increasing the efficiency of maintenance. We have recently seen a unique solution that makes use of AI to do fabric maintenance of offshore rigs. With the help of this technology, companies will be able to save millions of Dollars by simply avoiding breakdowns caused due to undetected problems. The technology we have now, such as cameras operated by AI, has proven to be more reliable than the traditional method of using professionals for analysis. The reliability we have now due to these advanced solutions is a major factor that has impacted the stability in our industry’s operations.

3. How has the pandemic impacted classification society’s operations?

During the peak of the pandemic, to not be able to go on-board ships for inspections due to precautionary measures was really challenging. However, we are getting back into full swing now, and are catching up with the pace we used to be at pre-pandemic. As compared to 2020, we have experienced a lot of improvement in 2021 in terms of classification activities. Considering the fact that the maritime industry is responsible for carrying around 80 per cent of global trade by volume and over 70 per cent of global trade by value, the sector simply cannot stop. All these ships that are used for carrying goods need to be approved by classification societies to ensure the safety of their operations, which is why we have been able to survive the challenges of covid-19, and look forward to more growth in the business in the future.