Ahead of the 7th Mediterranean Ports & Shipping 2019 conference in Casablanca, Morocco, FreightComms caught up with Francisco Toledo, President, PortCastelló, to capture his thoughts on the maritime industry.
Q: What is most important to you when you prepare to speak at 7th Mediterranean Ports and Shipping 2019 Casablanca?
From the presidency and the direction of the Port Authority we want to make clear the potential of PortCastelló for both the maritime traffic between Morocco and Spain and its function as a hub port thanks to the good regular connections we have within the Mediterranean. PortCastelló is the fifth best-connected seaport in Spain, it is the fourth in solid bulk traffic among the 46 Spanish ports, the seventh in liquid bulk traffic and the fifth in container import / export traffic.
The growth of traffic between PortCastelló and Morocco has been very remarkable. In two years, from 2017 to 2019, Morocco has gone from being the 21st country in exports from PortCastelló to being number 2 and port traffic has multiplied by 4 (by 5 exports and by 2.8 imports) . Therefore Morocco is an important destination for PortCastelló and with great growth potential.
Q: What are your main concerns about the future of the maritime industry?
The limitation of polluting emissions, the mismatch between the supply of container ships and demand, the race to make bigger and bigger ships, the process of concentration of shipping companies and the introduction of more technology, especially with regard to digitization and process automation.
Q: How do you think the industry can cope in the future with disruptions originating from new technologies?
Adapting as soon as possible to the digital transformation.
Q: Do you think there are interesting opportunities for the maritime industry in the future? Please elaborate.
The process of globalization continues to evolve and this means that there will be more maritime traffic since it is the main means of transport for imports and exports. The two major areas of progress that guarantee its sustainability are the reduction of emissions, both in maritime traffic and in port, and the greater automation of processes, because these developments lead to an improvement in productivity.
Q: What do you think are the most innovative projects in the maritime industry today?
There are interesting projects of robotization, application of Big Data, artificial intelligence and IoT.
Q: Do you think that regulators are doing enough to encourage and facilitate innovation in the maritime industry? Are some regions doing more than others? Please elaborate.
There are territories that are more innovative than others because the culture of innovation has not spread equally in all countries nor are the opportunities to innovate the same. Spanish ports in the hands of Puertos del Estado have set up a fund with contributions of 1% of our revenues to be used for innovative projects in order to promote progress in what we call Ports.
Q: What is your opinion about the availability of talent in the maritime sphere? Do you think we have all the talent we need? If not, how can we attract more talent to this industry?
Maritime professionals are very well prepared, however, it is necessary to give more importance to innovation, in some organizations almost non-existent, to attract personnel with these skills and encourage them in the current staff set up, so that the day to day demands of routine work do not impede thinking about the importance of preparing for the future.
Q: Do you think that the maritime industry is at last becoming an attractive option for women as much as it is for men? Please elaborate.
It is excessively masculinized especially at high managerial levels. However, more and more women see the maritime industry as an interesting professional career path and there are groups like WISTA that are trying to help them.
Q: What do you think will be the biggest obstacle in the maritime industry that can be overcome by means of technology.
Technology now permeates the entire maritime world, navigation aid systems and the management of ships are good proof of this. It also extends through ports and therefore more than talking about a specific milestone in the application of technology, we think it will be applied in all areas, in some areas sooner than in others, but finally spreading to all areas where the application of technology is appropriate.
Q: What are some of the most important things that maritime industry leaders are discussing in the boardroom this year? Please elaborate.
The promotion of the digitalization of the container transport industry to create common standards of information technology and create new opportunities for the customer.
Adapt all the logistic chains to the new consumer habits, with a considerable growth of online purchases and fast deliveries.
And another of the most important debates is the incorporation of new fuels for the sector, and its adaptation to regulations on sulfur limits.
For more from Francisco, join Transport Events‘ 7th Mediterranean Ports & Shipping 2019 conference in Casablanca, Morocco this week (25th to 28th June 2019).