During the first week of September, VIKAND attended the Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology (SMM) trade fair in Hamburg with our partner Navarino, who showed our team tremendous hospitality, as always.

VIKAND was represented by Ronald Spithout, Managing Director of OneHealth; Paul Frank, Senior Advisor; Mattias Hallberg, Director of Technical Solutions; Peter Schellenberger, Senior Advisor; and VIKAND Ambassador Agnes Mathiesen.

This year, SMM featured six themed exhibitor sections: Digital, Green, Security & Defence, Cruise & Ferry, Start-Up and Jobs. Larger halls also staged panel discussions on topics such as alternative propulsion systems, automation, data management, port technology and – our favourite topic – crew retention and welfare.

Here are 3 key trends we observed:

1. Energy efficiency, reducing emissions and overall sustainability continue to dominate discussions.
2. Emerging innovations are increasingly aligned with environmental priorities, indicating a strong focus on ESG goals.
3. Talk of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was literally everywhere and is quickly becoming a premier topic of consideration.

There is also a growing focus on crew wellbeing and healthcare, which – from VIKAND’s perspective – shows our efforts starting to bear fruit. In one panel discussion, IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez stressed the need to rapidly adapt to the demands of a new generation if maritime companies wish to attract and retain talent.

One figure that put this into stark relief came from Magda Kopczynska, EU Director General for Movement & Transport, who said that 40 percent of people working in shipbuilding will retire over the next decade, which will require around 240,000 replacement workers. Attracting talent to these types of careers will require serious changes to business as usual for maritime operators.

Another interesting observation: Satellite capacity is no longer a limiting factor at sea. There is now an abundance of bandwidth, and exhibitor trends point to a future with exceptional internet capacity for ships worldwide – a huge plus for digital health and wellness solutions.

During the event, VIKAND also shared our latest report through a sneak peek QR code. Our analysis of how new EU policies will impact the shipping industry offers insights on adapting maritime operations to comply with new EU supply chain laws. It also outlines immediate actions that companies can take to avoid serious consequences from lawmakers, as well as a new vision for how we engage seafarers.

The report received instant positive feedback and is now being widely disseminated to industry partners and stakeholders worldwide.

In the edition of Pulse, learn how pre-employment medicals are evolving and how that impacts on the cruise industry, discover how new technology from Scoutbase is changing commercial shipping, learn about our new partnership with Oceanic and more.