SURVIVAL STRATEGIES OF MALAYSIAN SHIPPING INDUSTRY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: APPROACH TO DIGITALISATION AND AUTOMATION

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It has created chaos around the world, including the shipping industry. It struck at a difficult time for the maritime industry as companies are trying to navigate the issues of climate change, political risks, piracy and other problems as highlighted by the International Maritime Organisation in 2020. Thus, this study tries to identify the problems and discover key survival strategies adopted by the Malaysian shipping industry during the pandemic. The results show that Malaysia’s shipping industry is suffering from a sharp reduction of business as cargo volumes decline, rising costs and labour issues due to pandemic restrictions. The key survival strategies of companies included the implementation of digitalisation and automation technology. These approaches are found to be maximised by industry players to increase work efficiency, optimise human resources and prevent the spread of COVID-19.