Global marine industry remaining positive

Boating Industry Association © Boating Industry Association

BIA Director and ICOMIA Vice President Darren Vaux recently attended METSTRADE Amsterdam and associated ICOMIA meetings on behalf of the BIA.

METS is the largest recreational marine industry trade show in the world and is held annually in Amsterdam in the third week of November. This was the first full scale METS since 2019 with a smaller event conducted in 2021 due to Covid related restrictions.

The event was a commensurate scale with pre-pandemic shows with attendance reaching 26,480 visitors (17,417 unique visitors from 126 nations). There were 1400 exhibitors across all 10 halls and some 6175 exhibitor personnel. The atmosphere of the show was positive and prosperous with exhibitors, and attendees alike using the opportunity to address some supply chain issues by identifying alternative component and material suppliers.

ICOMIA holds in-person committee meetings at METS. A major project being undertaken by ICOMIA in conjunction with IMEC is the de-carbonisation study which involves a detailed life-cycle cost analysis of alternative future propulsion and energy storage solutions as compared to a baseline of petrol/ diesel internal combustion engines. Nine different vessel types are being evaluated using propulsion/ storage combinations from alternative fuels, hybrid engines, fuel cells and full electric. Implications to the range and performance of different alternatives as well as the land-based infrastructure requirements are being considered. This landmark study will be completed in early 2023.

British Marine recently completed their updated participation study which provides some useful insight into consumer trends which can be extrapolated to the Australian market, particularly in the changes that can be expected in a 'post-covid' world. A key highlight of the report is that over the next 10 years Gen-Y/ Millennials will become the largest segment of the UK population (replicated in Australia) at some 25% of the population. This has significant implications for our industry as this group is characterised by environmental awareness, preference for sharing/ renting over owning, investing in experiences, social media sharing and research and purchasing on-line.