Global seaborne trade will more than double by 2030 as China’s rapidly growing economy fuels demand for commodities, a report by Lloyd’s Register, defence technology firm Qinetiq and the University of Strathclyde has showed, but according to many fears about  security still persist.
The report entitled “Global Marine Trends 2030″ claims that world seaborne trade will reach between 19 and 24 billion tonnes a year by 2030 compared to the current 9 billion tonnes.
“What is striking is that even in the most negative of the scenarios envisaged, maritime growth is strong,” said Richard Sadler, chief executive of Lloyd’s Register.
The study used three factors – population growth, economic development and resource demand – to help predict what the maritime trade, marine power and offshore energy sectors could look like in 2030.
According to the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI), the challenges of safeguarding this rapid growth are many, and there are concerns that unless maritime security efforts are redoubled, then piracy could threaten to destabilise the upward trend.
Speaking at the launch of their new publication, the BRIDGE, Steven Jones Maritime Director of SAMI stated, “Economic growth rests on certainty and confidence, these are both undermined by pirates and maritime crime. It is vital that nations are supported in their efforts to clamp down on security concerns and the root causes of maritime instability”.
Addressing a gathering at Sea Asia in Singapore, Jones recognised that whatever the efforts ashore, , “out at sea the military and private sectors must find ways to ensure the effect of piracy is limited.”
Via: http://www.shiptalk.com/
