The shipping industry has been rocked the last two years due to the effects of COVID-1 and industry disruption comes in many forms.
Labor shortages, price hikes, and low supply for high demand items has already caused significant changes and adjustments at every stage of the transport process.
Overall, our industry has shown incredible resilience and handled the disruptions with innovation and hard work.
Recently, a different international crisis began causing major shifts in our industry.
When the Russian regime invaded Ukraine and began an unprovoked attack, and decided to remain as aggressors in the country, the Russian flag in the shipping industry became a problem.
Our industry is a diverse and interconnected world, but it is not immune to geopolitical conflicts.
We have known companies that were working with Russian vessels in the last two months that have had to face serious financial hardship in order to change out ships and continue a project.
We recently were called to help survey the unloading and reloading of a project onto a new vessel because the one they were using flew the Russian flag leading up to the conflict.
As a company that works all over the world, we know that making the right decision early on and mitigating risk is always the less expensive option. Too many companies have taken the risk of not taking the Russian regimes aggression in Ukraine seriously and have paid a high price for not heeding the warnings of the sanctions that followed.
In light of this, there are two things worth considering:
1. There is a high price to pay for working with the Russian regime right now
This is an international industry and Russia has been a major player for a long time. Now there is a high price ethically for supporting the Russian economy, but there are more than the ethical issues, the international sanctions make it financially risky. industry disruption comes in many forms and will lead to different ways of problem solving. It might mean finding a different vessel, reconsidering the port you stop at, and even hiring different contractors. Failing to do so will almost definitely cost you more in the long run.
2. Good partnerships matter
Our clients needed help with a last-minute cargo survey to unload equipment from a ship that had flown the Russian flag to one that did not. Fortunately, because they had already developed a good partnership with us, we were able to be there quickly and everything went without incident. When crises occur in the international stage, good partnerships can make or break projects. If you need someone who can help keep projects safe and ensure you are thinking of every possible risk, give us a call. We would love to be your eyes, ears, and voice on site anywhere in the world (except for Russia!).
Read here about our case on the reaction when COVID hit Europe.