Safmarine CEO speaks out on future of conference model

JOY ORLEK
HAS THE shipping conference model outlived its useful existence? That was the question FTW put to Safmarine CEO Ivan Heesom-Green on the eve of the line’s 60th anniversary. The concept has come in for a lot of flak recently, and certain exemptions are currently under scrutiny by the Competition Board in Europe. “Conferences have played an important role in shipping history, but today the shipping industry, including ourselves, is more focused on working with customers than conferences,” says Heesom-Green. “The conference model does not necessarily have the customer as its focus point – it is more operationally driven than customer driven and as Safmarine we put our future in following our customer needs rather than the conference.” This doesn’t imply that the line would unilaterally withdraw from all conferences, but he believes the industry is sustainable without them. “Time moves on and the days when lines had to co-ordinate sailings to make sure that customers had a regular service are over. “Consolidation in the industry has enabled lines to provide customers with frequency and service levels on their own rather than through conferences and consortia. And this is precisely what a number of the majors are already doing.” For the future this means that market share will be split between the top 10 global carriers on one hand and niche operators on the other. “The guys in the middle who are neither global nor niche are the ones who are likely to feel squeezed.”