The 37th Europort maritime technology exhibition was launched this week with an engaging fiesta of keynote speakers, videos, a lively percussion band and a light show that certainly delivered an energetic start to the week.
The core themes of this Europort are innovation, efficiency and human capital. However, the future of the industry and maritime leadership were also at the epicentre of this opening ceremony.
A panel of Dutch maritime representatives , including Harold Linssen, Director of Keppel Verolme and “Port Personality of the Year 2014”, Vice Admiral Matthieu Borsboom, Director of the Defence Materials Organisation, and Jan Valkier, CEO of the Anthony Veder Group shared their visions and beliefs for the future of the global maritime industry.
The discussions between this panel and the conference compare were dominated by the themes of future fuel options and autonomous ships.
Jan Valkier, CEO of the Anthony Veder Group touched upon LNG fuel, suggesting that the industry should look to LNG as a future fuel source as the finite supply of fossil fuels should be used for other applications and not by ships.
For Admiral Borsboom, when asked about his thoughts on leadership responded, “A maritime leader is someone who stands on the beach, looks at the sea and understands that the horizon is not the end but the bridge, it is all about the ability to see the possibilities over the horizon”. Borsboom also believes that innovation is fundamentally important across the board, not just within the sphere of technology.
Smart technology and unmanned ships were also topics that were discussed, with Borsboom commenting that the navy already uses unmanned technologies and vessels and that this is no new fad for the military, but he questioned when will the industry see the first unmanned transatlantic cargo ship?
