Ship operations and management

Latest update: 27 Jan 2025

The Red Sea crisis – not the sole reason for higher ship operating costs

The re-routing of merchant ships around Cape of Good Hope instead of crossing the Bab-al-Mandab has not only led to significant changes in trade patterns and tonne-mile demand, but has also resulted in certain operational challenges.

01 Nov 2023: Vessel stores and spares costs to rise as a price inflation aftermath

While stores and spares spending has shown only a limited increase in recent years, we expect the effects of price rises seen in 2021 and 22 to appear in the short-to-midterm in the form of higher spending levels. Based on these driving factors, Drewry forecasts a steady average YoY rise of 3.2% in in stores and spares costs in the 2024-2028 period.

25 Oct 2022: Fewer seafarers, higher inflation – where are ship operating costs heading?

Demand for seafarers is still on the rise, while increase in supply is expected to be weaker in the future. At the same time, consumer price index growth remains elevated. Based on these driving factors, Drewry forecasts a steady increase in wages which will feed into ship operating costs.

We offer a unique combination of specialist expertise and experience to support the operational, technical and strategic needs of ship owners and operators.

Everyday operational and management concerns are clearly a vital dynamic of the maritime industry and every year Drewry's research team publish two comprehensive reports analysing and predicting operational overheads and specific management and resourcing considerations for owners, operators and other stakeholders.

Drewry's two annual management/operational reports:

• Ship Operating Costs (published in Oct/Nov)
• Manning Report (published in June/July)

Ship Operating Costs provides information and analysis of ship operating costs for 46 different ship types and sizes, while the annual Manning report reviews the trends in seafarer (officer and ratings) in the past decade and forecasts seafarer requirements five years ahead.

Meanwhile, our consultants typically provide shipowners, investors and leaders with technical due diligence support, in addition to other ship operations related advice.

An elite and diverse group of industry stakeholders from shipowners, to charterers, investors and financial intermediaries rely on our range of market research, sector expertise and commercial experience to help inform decisions, reduce costs and drive performance improvement.