Page 43 - Next Generation 2015 - Digtial Issue

WILL THE NEXT 50 YEARS BE
AS CHAOTIC AS THE LAST?

Leading maritime economist Martin Stopford assesses
the seismic changes in shipping over the past five

decades to see what clues they offer about our future

THE 1960s was a decade of enormous 1.6bn tonnes in 1965 to 10.3bn tonnes for the imperial trade. But in 1966
social and economic change. In Europe, in 2015, a six-fold increase. Several Malcom Maclean commissioned the
the 1950s, a decade of frugal recovery developments coincided to create a first transatlantic container service
from the Second World War, gave global economic system that produced from New Jersey to Rotterdam, and the
way to an exciting new society — the this record of uninterrupted economic OCL consortium was set up. General
Swinging 60s. The Beatles topped the growth. These included the emergence cargo was unitised and transported by
charts; colour television arrived; direct of a global free trade policy, the containerships; and air freight took the
dialling replaced switchboards; and the communications revolution, quicker high-value commodities.
Boeing 747 initiated mass global travel. and easier global travel and formation
of globalised materials markets. During the same period,
Shipping too was changing specialised vessels had developed,
fast. In 1966, work started on the So, what was the shipping industry including the first chemical tankers;
Queen Elizabeth II, the first of a new like in 1965? the first LNG ships; the first purpose-
generation of cruiseship; Japan’s IHI built car carriers; and the first open
shipyard delivered the first very large In 1965, the shipping business was hatch forest products carriers.
crude carrier and Malcom MacLean busy building a new transport system.
started the first transatlantic container The drive to reduce transport costs NEW GENERATION OF
service. Norwegian shipping magnate spurred the replacement of cargo liners SHIPPING COMPANIES
Hilmar Reksten made a fortune when and tramps, which had served shipping
the Suez Canal closed in 1967. faithfully for a century, with much At the same time, a new generation of
bigger tankers and bulkers to transport shipowners and shipping companies
THE NEW GLOBAL bulk raw materials. emerged, taking full advantage of the
ECONOMY OF THE 1960s newly-developed flags of convenience
In 1966, the first very large crude to cut their costs to levels that allowed
By the 1960s a century of serving the carrier, the 209,413 dwt Idemitsu them to offer long-term time charters at
European empires was ending and Maru, was delivered and also the rates far below what the multinationals
shipping’s new role was globalisation. first capesize bulk carrier, of 144,000 could provide themselves.
This came as a result of nations in Asia dwt. Specialised bulk cargoes were
and Africa being granted independence transported in specially designed The FOC fleet grew rapidly as a
and the establishment of the European bulk vessels (motor vehicles, forest result. The time charters they obtained
Union in 1958. The US, the world’s products, chemicals and gas, for were then used to raise finance in the
wealthiest economy, provided a political example). Multinational cargo shippers rapidly growing Eurodollar market
hegemony founded on the principles supported this development by — the famous “other people’s money”
of free trade, established at the Bretton building bulk terminals and providing concept — to create a new type of
Woods conference in 1944, and the time charters which enabled owners to shipping business. Entrepreneurial
rapidly expanding multi-national obtain finance for the big ships. risk-taking became the name of
companies managed the change. the game. Gradually timec harters
In the mid-1960s, the liner disappeared as the multinationals
The result was spectacular trade business was struggling to carry the found there were plenty of ships
growth. Sea trade expanded from escalating volume of trade with a fleet available on the spot market.
of breakbulk cargo liners designed