22nd JECKU Top Executive Meeting(14 November 2013, Okinawa, Japan䠅Chairman’s NoteThe 22nd JECKU Top Executive Meeting was held in Okinawa, Japan on 14November 2013, and was attended by top executives and representatives from major
shipbuilding companies in Japan, Europe, China, Korea and the United States.
The participants frankly exchanged views on issues surrounding the shipbuilding
industry including the world economy and energy, shipbuilding situations in respective
regions, supply and demand, shipbuilding market by ship types, shipbuilding costs aswell as environmental regulations which have increasingly become stringent in recentyears.
The world economy in the future is projected to grow at a modest pace althoughcurrently there are a number of global economic uncertainties including the energy
issues and concerns on slowdown in certain emerging economies. Efficiency gains
and increasing environmental awareness will curb future energy demand in advanced
countries. In contrast, emerging nations can be expected to bring growth in world
primary energy consumption. Particularly, demand for natural gas is likely to steadily
grow both in advanced and emerging countries.
With ongoing adjustments of fleet availability such as slow-steaming, increased
demolition of aged and unprofitable vessels, and peaking-out from the rush ofmassive newbuilding completions, a gradual recovery is expected in the future
shipping market. Although some improvement in the current newbuilding market isconceivable from the latest figures, this can be considered a rebound from the sharp
drop in contracts placed last year. Therefore, it is premature to conclude that we haveovercome the crisis and are in a phase of recovery and growth.
While there are differences in perception of the definition of capacity among
delegations, it is obvious that the market has been in a state of over-capacity for someyears. In order to minimise the supply-demand imbalance, the shipbuilders need to1

create new demand through technical innovations and to intensify diversification into
new business fields such as ocean development, offshore wind power andengineering whilst absorbing the over-capacity.
While the market of major ship types remains stagnant, we find some shipowners
ordering highly-efficient bulk carriers or larger size containerships at attractive prices.
As the increment of shale gas production in North America and the development of
deep-water oilfields are foreseen, we anticipate firm demand for LNG carriers andoffshore-related vessels or facilities.
We shipbuilders, as one of the stakeholders in the maritime industry, will meet thechallenges of the current trend to tighten regulations for the environmental protection.
We will cooperate with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and otherregulatory bodies and will continue our constant efforts to build innovative andeco-friendly vessels. At the same time, through the Committee for Expertise ofShipbuilding Specifics (CESS), a body under JECKU, we will proactively present ourcommon positions during the rule-making process so that rules or regulations are wellbalanced while realistic and practical for shipbuilders.
The CESS Chairman indicated in his report that the Committee will keep a close eye
on developments of the relationship between aged vessels and a number ofdeficiencies. From the aspect of securing protection of the marine environment andsafety, substandard ships should promptly retire from service. The shipbuilding
industry will therefore appeal to the shipping and related industries for proper
maintenance of their fleet, and further aim to create a framework which facilitates themarket penetration of eco-friendly vessels while phasing out inefficient vessels.
Europe will host the 23rd JECKU Top Executive Meeting in 2014. All delegates agreed
to meet in the autumn 2014 in Paris.
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