Page 15: of Marine News Magazine (January 2022)

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Column

Passenger Vessels

Such optimism was certainly abundant in October at ferry industry became clear at the conference when we our 45th annual conference in Santander, Spain. COVID announced headline ? ndings from our recently pub- had forced us to cancel the event planned for 2021, so it lished study commissioned from specialist U.K. con- was especially welcome that we could reconnect with our sultancy Oxford Economics. Based on the latest pre- colleagues and share insights on not only the challenges COVID full-year ? gures, in 2019 a worldwide ? eet of but also the opportunities that lay in store. 15,400 ferries carried 4.27 billion passengers—matching

The buoyant mood among some 300 participants was airlines—and 373 million vehicles. Furthermore, the in- fanned by a keynote address on London-based L.E.K dustry supported 1.1 million jobs and contributed $60

Consulting’s research into post-pandemic prospects for billion to the world GDP. the European ferry market. Transport and logistics part- In subsequent panel discussions, nine ferry company ner Becrom Basu said the success of vaccination roll-outs CEOs from Europe and the Americas focused largely on had released pent-up demand to the extent that—CO- what ranks as one of the greatest challenges facing our in-

VID permitting—passenger bookings could be back to dustry and the world at large—the drive to reduce green- 2019 levels by this year, particularly as ferries had been house gas emissions, notably through electri? cation. The rated as the safest way to avoid infection compared with overriding message concerned the need for port infrastruc- other travel modes. By the way, similar conclusions can ture to enable the zero emissions initiatives being adopted be drawn from a November survey of residents in Brit- by operators. Going forward, Interferry will leverage ? nd- ish Columbia, Canada, which suggests that ferries are best ings from the study on the industry’s importance in order placed to build on this sentiment and further extend mar- to encourage funding for the necessary power networks. ket share when normality is restored. The ferry community took responsibility for reducing its

The startling size and economic impact of the global carbon footprint long before regulatory targets were im- www.marinelink.com MN 15|