44 Maritime consultancy Koers & Vaart was requested to develop a concrete business case for multipurpose maritime entrepreneurship from a broad sector-wide perspective. This took place in the framework of the EKO-vation project, in which the Ekofish Group and InnovationNetwork work with various partners on a revolutionary multipurpose seagoing platform. Whether it is profitable for fishermen to invest in offshore activities other than fishing depends on many factors and the answers can vary widely according to the specific nature of the fishing company and the ship. A whole series of questions arises. What activities other than fishing would the fisherman like to tackle? How much time is he prepared to allocate to these activities? What sailing speeds does he expect to need and what are the implications in terms of fuel consumption? And all these questions are also closely related. This business case has led to a computation model, into which the fisheries entrepreneur can enter his individual wishes and business profile. He can also vary these data to explore the various options. The outcomes will provide an approximate indication of the viability of each option. Clearly, further details need to be worked out before making definite business decisions. In view of the growing interest in LNG as a transport fuel, the computation model also contains a separate page which shows the estimated payback time for an LNG installation given the selected activities, fuel consumption, number of sailing days, and estimated prices of diesel and LNG. The computation model (spreadsheet) can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/cdawbje. Conclusions and recommendations Multipurpose maritime entrepreneurship opens up opportunities for the fisheries entrepreneur to broaden and strengthen the economic base of his business. Income increases, while investment costs and operating expenses rise less quickly. The fuel costs that form a substantial portion of the operating expenses can be reduced by almost 10% assuming optimal use of the ship. The fisheries sector is currently exploring how costs can be saved by sailing with smaller ships or reducing the speed of existing ships. However, a higher speed makes for greater flexibility and allows for a drastical increase of the ship’s versatility. This calls for a ship that can be easily adapted to the changing wishes and requirements of prospects and customers. Following the example of large offshore ships with large working decks, a market is also emerging for smaller multipurpose vessels. LNG as an alternative fuel is mainly interesting with a high ship capacity utilization and in situations requiring higher sailing speeds. Payback times vary from 4.5 years with a higher capacity utilization to 8 years with a lower capacity utilization. In addition, the application of LNG helps to give the fisheries sector a greener reputation, which is increasingly important for the image of fish in the market. Pagina 53
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