Final day of Sea Asia wraps up with future focus

Sea Asia 2015 wrapped up today with industry leaders debating the impact liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation, tightening regulations and ship financing will all have on the offshore and
marine industries.
Seatrade Chairman Chris Hayman said these discussions marked the end of a fantastic conference and exhibition.
“We’ve just completed the fifth Sea Asia and it was the best and biggest edition yet. We had an outstanding calibre of speakers and exhibitors, many of whom play a defining role in our industry.
“I’ve no doubt that the debate and discussion we’ve seen will help shape the industry’s thinking and activity moving forward.”

A key topic of debate at the final day of Sea Asia 2015 was the consumption and transportation of LNG. John Ng, Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore LNG Corporation Pte Ltd, said: “Asia is the growth engine for LNG demand with around 75 per cent of total LNG consumption happening in this region.
“The shale development in North America as well as the growth of the LNG market in Australia and West Africa will have a huge impact on LNG trade flows and therefore the world’s shipping markets,” he said.
Jorge L Quijano Chief Executive Officer of the Panama Canal Authority (PAC) highlighted that the Panama Canal is one shipping lane that’s preparing to manage this growth with two to three LNG vessels expected to transit through the expanded Canal every day by 2020.
Earlier this year the Authority released proposed LNG tolls to take effect following the Canal’s expansion. Li Xiang, Deputy Director of the Transport Finance Department at the China EXIM Bank said that the trend is also helping to shape the bank’s financing decisions.

“China is importing large volumes of LNG and there will be huge potential in the coming years for the LNG market. We think LNG will be one of our priorities,” he said.
Going forward, China Exim Bank will continue to prioritise their lendings to higher technology, higher value assets such as LNG vessels, offshore vessels and eco-ships.
This focus on building ‘high-tech’ vessels is critical in enabling the industry to comply with increasingly stringent safety and environmental regulations – another key topic of discussion during Sea Asia’s final day.

International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Chairman Philippe Donche-Gay said: "The sinking of the MOL Comfort accelerated the work of the already established IACS Working Groups to enhance and develop structural regulations concerning Post-Panamax containership.”
“These regulations are particularly important as people race to build bigger ships – a trend which can create a number of technological challenges,” he said.