“
The Chinese are now
entering the cruiser-
building business.
Moreover, values of people have a tasks for the industry in the following years
stronger direct impact on their behav- is making a controlled introduction of a
iour. Social responsibility and awareness new generation of experts to the sector.
of sustainability have increased as a cus- Investing in RDI and competence devel-
tomer value. opment is simply key in a fast-changing
According to the report, environ-
world.
mental technologies, digitalisation of
shipping and intelligent ships and prod- DRAGON MARKET
ucts as well as utilisation of oceans’ nat- According to the report, the current com-
ural resources are necessities for growth. petence level of the Finnish Maritime Clus-
Automation and robotics will change the ter is high. However, it needs to be further
production of marine solutions and Circular developed in order to outperform its global
Economy is one of the watchwords of new- competition – since t he competitors are
and-improved marine industry under the constantly improving their game as well.
“reduce, reuse and recycle” (3R) principle. For example, the Chinese are now entering
The future of the maritime cluster is the cruiser-building business, with China
directed by several trends. For instance, State Shipbuilding Company (CSSC) start-
application of new energy sources, sus- ing off with a vessel for Carnival Cruises,
tainable business models, usage of to be delivered by 2023.
marine resources, international regulation
changes, digitalisation and automation will
Pentti Kujala is not overly concerned
– not yet, anyway.
be forces to be reckoned with in one way ”Europe will be able to maintain its
or another. Some new opportunities might position for a long time to come, since it
be found from usage of ocean resources, will take a while for China to reach the
industrial symbiosis and new innovative same level of expertise in cruisers,” he
ways to shaping the production and ser- believes. According to Kujala, the Chi-
vice chains. nese have a strong forte in cargo ships, but
cruise ships are not exactly bulk: they’re
DIGITAL EDGE finely-tuned high-quality products, pow-
Professor Pentti Kujala from Aalto Univer- ered by innovative networks.
sity was one of the experts contributing ”The Finnish subcontractor net-
to the composing of the report. Kujala work for cruise ships has been developed
believes that “digital marine” is here to onwards since late 1960’s and there are
stay: 800–1 000 companies in that network.
“For example, digital tools in the This provides the Finns with a clear com-
design and production of cruise ships can petitive advantage that is hard to match,
bring about many new opportunities and by anyone.”
improved efficiency.”
Not for the lack of trying, though.
According to Kujala, Finland is one of Kujala points out that Japan tried to make
the pioneers in this digital approach, but a big splash in cruiser business, but could
there is no room to grow complacent. “If not make it work – and this is the coun-
you want to stay at the top in this current try that gave the world the entire lean ide-
situation, there’s no time for naps.” ology.
The report finds that the strength of “Despite everything that Japan had
the Finnish Maritime Cluster lies in its ver- going for her, it is apparent that mari-
satile markets in which the different sec- time-specific network expertise and pro-
tors balance each other. One of the main ject management was lacking.” n
seatec 1/2018 41