Report: “OECD Says Economic Gains From Big Ships Are Sinking”

Frugal & efficient usage of resources gets into focus in the maritime industry

By: Rajnish Tiwari
Hamburg Port

Hamburg Port (Photo: R. Tiwari)

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (June 3, 2015), “A new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development suggests that operating cost benefits to ocean carriers may not be as valuable as originally assumed for the new round of megaships […]” The report raises the question whether “container ships [are] getting too big, too fast to justify the savings that shipping lines expect from economies of scale?” The OECD study was apparently presented at the 29th World Ports Conference in Hamburg. Main themes of interest underlying the conference are efficient and sparing usage of resources, surface areas, and energy, reports German newspaper Die Welt (3.6.2015):

“Hauptthemen der Konferenz sind der effiziente und sparsame Umgang mit Ressourcen, Flächen und Energie.”

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