Global Shipping Rewired?
Recently, Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General at UNCTAD called the COVID-19 pandemic a “litmus test for the globalized and interdependent world economy”. Broadly speaking, the industry has been able to circumnavigate through 2020 relatively unscathed and in certain instances from the shipping lines, posted healthy profits. The industry has shown resilience to be such an important part of navigating through the pandemic and as has been mentioned, played a critical part in ensuring that crucial supplies were able to reach the places that needed them most as it maintained its operations, even when the rest of the world was shutting down.
Many lessons were learnt in 2020 and some vital issues still need to be urgently addressed in the opening months of this year. But the new year, one hopes comes with a small amount of optimism and the opportunity for the sector. There are several divergent paths that the year could travel in, and we are by no means, at the end of this pandemic. But as a vaccine rollout takes effect and we start to emerge from the lockdown, there is hope for a return to a sense of normality this year.
