Navis examines state of ocean cargo terminals worldwide amid COVID-19

As COVID-19 remains prevalent around the world, terminals have had to adapt their business strategies to meet the challenges brought on by the pandemic, according to industry research done by Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation, the provider of operational technologies and services designed to unlock greater performance and efficiency for leading organizations throughout the global shipping industry.  

Navis surveyed over 165 customers across the globe and explored the impact terminals are seeing during COVID-19, the top concerns they are facing and how technology is playing a role in the shift to remote operations. 

According to the report, due to COVID-19, 89% of respondents are seeing a moderate or greater impact on their business, causing the need to adapt their operational strategies to the changing landscape. 

As terminals are shifting their operations, safety on site (26%) and planning and managing a remote workforce (16%) were cited their top concerns. The need for remote solutions to continue operations successfully were universally accepted across the board. 

Due to the need for terminals to support a remote workforce able to coordinate effectively with essential on site staff, all at an accelerated pace, they are leveraging technology to make a smoother transition for their operations and employees. 

Respondents noted they already had some roles being performed off-site including, vessel (26%), yard (19%) and stowage (16%) planning, but were interested in moving other operations roles virtual. As a Navis customer, 57% of respondents felt well prepared to handle those rapid shifts in operations. 

“These are unprecedented times for our customers and the industry as a whole,” said Andy Barrons, Chief Strategy Officer at Navis. 

Andy Clason, Vice President of Technical Services, told LM in an interview that a transition of a substantial amount of the workforce to remote work brings with it a need to transition training for that workforce as well. 

“This transition involves both the format of the training and the content. With the rise of zoom meetings and remote learning in our school system, we've already seen portents of the former,” he said.