Aftermath of COVID-19 – the impact on sustainability in container shipping (social sustainability)

• Main Author: Chua, Weiting
• Other Authors: Lum Kit Meng
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Engineering::Maritime studies
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/172706
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The global outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 led to profound disruptions across various sectors, with container shipping being no exception. The container shipping industry, an essential backbone of global trade, faced unprecedented challenges and transformations in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report investigates the multifaceted impact of the pandemic on sustainability in the container shipping industry. Through a comprehensive analysis of post-pandemic trends, regulatory changes, and industry responses, this study sheds light on the evolving landscape of container shipping and its sustainability implications. The topic is considered from three different viewpoints that could contribute to the impact on sustainability in container shipping in the aftermath of COVID-19: Social, Environmental, and Economic. This paper focuses on the Social Sustainability in container shipping, while Environmental and Economic are covered by Ong Shi Hui and Lau Xue Ying, Sarah, respectively. Together, the three viewpoints would cover most of the key areas of the impact on sustainability in container shipping in the aftermath of COVID-19. The social sustainability that is explored in this report aims to study the effectiveness of initiatives on the landscape of container shipping in the aftermath of COVID-19. With an increasing focus on social sustainability around the world, the maritime industry is not spared either. As part of the industry’s efforts to achieve social sustainability, regulations have since been enforced to keep up with the rising trend. Two groups within the container shipping industry – seafarers and desk-bound workers, will be considered in this study. The pandemic has had a significant impact on the social sustainability of these groups. Crew changes have been disrupted, and seafarers have faced mental and physical health challenges. The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of fair labour practices and decent working conditions in the industry. This paper will consider the social sustainability measures companies adopted before the pandemic and highlight the difference in the aftermath of COVID-19, showcasing the efforts made by the maritime industry to better the lives of its people. The analysis and insights collected would give pointers to the maritime industry on the relevant, adequate measures to take in the event of other challenges, whether it is another pandemic or even other events such as geopolitical tensions or economic crises. In the form of a literature review, we would compare the various strategies to improve social sustainability in various aspects and the different maritime stakeholders involved. Primary research – a survey questionnaire and interviews – would be carried out to garner the industry players' perspectives on sustainability efforts. Both the primary and secondary research data would then be further analysed before a final assessment would be given on the effectiveness of the two groups in overcoming COVID-19 and beyond. This study would then conclude with an overview of the maritime industry’s efforts towards social sustainability. From our findings, we conclude that there are relevant measures such as better handling of crew changes and digitalisation drawn from COVID-19 to improve the maritime industry and deal with future challenges. However, there remain various uncertainties in overcoming the issues raised despite implementing and adopting a plethora of sustainability measures. The factors are mainly regarding health and safety as well as mental health and others. Only with full support and a collective effort from different maritime stakeholders globally would the rollout of the sustainability measures become effective and viable. Nevertheless, there is still more room for improvement for these initiatives to be successful in the long run. The recommended actions to be taken for the maritime industry stress consistency. Taking various factors into consideration, the group believes that efforts to achieve sustainability will be effective in the distant future with the integration of social, environmental and economic factors.