Industry to face ‘twists and turns’ in coming Chinese Year of the Snake, says “K” Line

In his New Year Message to employees delivered yesterday, “K” Line President and CEO Yukikazu Myochin (pictured) warned that the industry must remain steadfast in its long-term goals in the face of what he predicted would be a period of many changes during the coming Chinese Year of the Snake beginning January 29.

Besides the ongoing geopolitical risks in the Middle East region, there will also be a new US administration, he reminded, “and major changes to trade and energy policies are expected. It will be important to carefully monitor the impact on the economy and how supply chains and demand for maritime transport will change going forward.”

On decarbonisation, last year saw introduction of the EU ETS regulation, followed by FuelEU Maritime to take effect this year, and “even the IMO has finally gotten into full swing discussing measures on the introduction of further action encouraging the switch from conventional fossil fuel-driven vessels to zero emission vessels in order to cut the greenhouse gas emissions generated by international shipping,” he continued. “In the United States, however, there are expectations that the change in administrations will result in major revisions to low-carbon and carbon-free trends.

“At the global scale, I believe the major trend of reducing greenhouse gas emissions will persist, but with regional variations and shifts in timelines expected, we are looking to steadily pursue initiatives to reduce our environmental impact from a medium- to long-term perspective without being swayed by short-term developments.

“2025 is the year of the wood snake according to the Chinese zodiac,” the “K” Line President and CEO concluded. “The ‘wood’ part represents proceeding through twists and turns despite difficulties,

and the “snake” here is associated with a snake shedding its skin to grow stronger, thus symbolising “rebirth and transformation.” Together, the wood snake signifies ‘steadily achieving things through sustained effort’, he said, exhorting “K” Line staff to follow suit.