Ferry Business - Autumn/Winter 2020

3 2 COMMENTARY Leading post-pandemic change Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan explains the defiant mood of resilience and recovery among industry leaders as the world awaits a Covid-19 cure MIKE CORRIGAN A Canadian former energy industry executive, Mike Corrigan joined Interferry in 2017 after 14 years in leadership positions with BC Ferries, where he became president and CEO in 2012. governments paved the way for a gradual relaxation of travel restrictions during the peak summer season. Interferry was ready for the safe resumption of passenger services thanks to feedback from members enabling us to produce best practice guidelines for social distancing and enhanced sanitisation. The summer months are critical for ro- pax operators as tourist traffic sustains lower earnings during the rest of the year. That won’t be the case in the late-starting summer of 2020, but there has been a season of sorts – notably on a ‘staycation’ regionalised basis as customers realised the benefits of travelling safer and closer to home. All the same, passenger numbers are bound to be vastly reduced and operators have resigned themselves to accumulated losses of billions in revenue. By now you must be wondering what I meant by suggesting earlier that there is some (relatively) good news in all this. Fortunately, together with my own assessment, I can also cite some cautious optimism stemming from my regular conversations with industry leaders among our more than 260 members in 40 countries. Our general consensus on strategy and future prospects can be summarised as follows. Governments have acknowledged the industry’s importance during the W hat does the future hold for the ferry industry as the world confronts and eventually emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic? There is no denying the devastating impact of the crisis, yet in the worst imaginable way, it has somehow presented the glimmer of an opportunity to reinforce our value to society. Please don’t think I am trying to put an unduly positive spin on an unprecedented catastrophe. For much of 2020, the bad news has by far outweighed the good. However, the constantly evolving governmental, scientific and commercial response has encouraged sufficient hope that recovery is at least in sight, albeit in phases and on a potentially long road. The current change in fortunes has been stark. For several years before the pandemic, ferry operators throughout the developed world had enjoyed annual and often record traffic growth, with rising demand being matched by a wave of orders for new ships. When non-essential travel was banned under the Covid-19 lockdown, those ferries still operating were largely limited to lifeline freight services and incurred unsustainable financial losses. Most services were either suspended or run on a reduced scale, so ships were laid up and thousands of sea-going and shore staff were laid off. Sadly, these solutions may often prove to be permanent rather than temporary, and further consolidation of companies, routes and fleets cannot be ruled out. Our crucial community of suppliers was likewise hit by revenue losses and lay-offs as operators signalled a hold on capital expenditure. However, there was eventually a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel when Travellers are using ferry services from Scottish operator CalMac to enable them to enjoy staycations in their home country this summer Photo: Provided by BC Ferries Operators such as Canada’s BC Ferries have introduced social distancing measures onboard their vessels to keep passengers safe Photo: Courtesy of CalMac Ferries “Ferries are an indispensable part of the global transport infrastructure ”