AUGUST 2, 2013—On August 7, the Hong Kong shipping community will get a first glimpse at a global study, "Best Practice in Ship Management," conducted jointly by Germanischer Lloyd (GL) and the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services (CML). This will be the first in a series of events where GL and Fraunhofer will share with maritime stakeholders insights into what worldwide shipping companies consider best practices in their industry.

"In a difficult market situation shipping companies are expected to reconcile low operational costs with high crew quality, safety and technical standards," says Dr. Torsten Büssow, author of the study and GL's Head of Maritime Software. "Our study has been designed to give shipping companies a look over their neighbors' shoulders, enabling them to reflect on their own businesses, develop new ideas, and implement the most efficient practices."

The study covers the areas of crewing, technical management, finance, quality and safety management, and procurement. Study respondents consider crewing the most challenging area over the medium term, followed by technical management and financial management.

"Best practices" in this study comprises all of the approaches, procedures, business models and tools that ship managers are using to do business in ways that are smarter, safer and greener. Almost 90% of the respondents are actively seeking best practice examples as an organization, with 65% of them looking at other companies for their models.

If you are interested in attending the event in Hong Kong or any of the other upcoming launch events being held around the world, you can register on the GL website: http://www.gl-group.com/en/Best-Practice-Ship-Management.php

The Hong Kong event is being held in cooperation with the Hong Kong Ship Owners Association and will take place at the Luk Kwok Hotel 72 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, HK in the Falcon Room from 4:00pm to 5:30pm, with a reception to follow.