ADAPTABILITY, A KEY FACTOR IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY
I started my career as an apprentice in a well-known shipyard on the River Clyde in Scotland in the early sixties. In these days, the Shipbuilding Industry in the United Kingdom was booming with a great future for the industry.
During those years, the River Clyde dominated shipbuilding, constructing a significant percentage of the world's ships. Several factors such as geographical location, the ease of acquiring steel and other raw materials influenced this period of splendor for the Glasgow shipyards. One of the most famous liners built in these shipyards, of which I was part of the construction team, was the Queen Elizabeth 2, between 1964 and 1968.
However, time tell us most good things do not go on forever and one must adapt to the changes and the eventual decline. Although shipbuilding continued in the UK up to the mid-seventies, competition with shipyards in Asia and elsewhere in Europe became increasingly tough.
My personal career has developed initially due to this decline and has forced me to look for other horizons.
In the seventies I evolved from the construction of passenger and cargo vessels into the boatbuilding industry in the south of England, mainly fiber glass fishing vessels which were exported all over the world. As I mentioned before if you wish to remain in the industry that you love you must adapt.
I remained in this industry for the entire decade were I managed projects of small ships and fiber glass fishing vessels in Sri Lanka-India, Somalia-Yemen, Papua-New Guinea, Malaysia, finally dropping anchors in Chile in the early eighties.
My first introduction to Chile was in 1982 managing a fishing boat project for a well-known shipbuilding and repair yard in Valparaiso. From that time and on I took the decision to settle in Chile and remain in the industry that I love so much.
Once again referring back to having the ability to adapt within the maritime and shipbuilding industry I managed to remain gainfully employed in shipbuilding projects and associated projects within the industry in various ports and terminals in Chile and Ecuador. It was an enriching experience and gaining diverse knowledge through the implementation of these projects considering the geographical and climatic aspects prevailing in the southern sector of Latin America and breaking once again with the language barriers. In addition, contributing with my own experiences acquired in the field of shipbuilding during my years of work in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
As time goes by, for the past 14 years I have been associated with a Chilean Marine Consulting Company heavily involved in the maritime development of ports, terminals and land bagged maritime facilities including port and terminal construction, submarine pipelines, seawater induction system, ship-mooring systems, among others.
In conclusion, it is a far cry from being in the shipbuilding industry in the early sixties and our modern age. There have been many innovations in the form of ships constructions, ship-size, ship-machinery, ship-handling systems and of course, all these factors converge in the field in which I am presently associated with ports and terminals in Chile.
Finally, I would like to mention the environmental change to our planet. Climate change will have an ominous affect to our industry which will create not only problems in ship structures due to more severe conditions and downtime to ports and terminals and, of course, shipping cancelled on certain worldwide routes because of ongoing inclement weather such as typhoon seasons and major storms. Undoubtedly, the maritime industry must shift its practices towards sustainability.
The future of the shipbuilding and maritime industry is in the hands of the young engineers. To these young engineers currently working in the industry, I urge you to have confidence in your abilities and not to give up in the face of difficulties, to put passion into your actions and to adapt to the constant changes in the industry as ships adapt to the swaying of waves at sea.
It is up to you to resolve the problems of now and the future and in this want and as has been my career in the industry, one must be adaptable to the changing conditions if our industry is to continue and evolve to the same standards of excellence by which it is renowned.
(*) Original article written in English
Spanish translation by Red MAMLa Communications
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