Europort Industry Leaders Q&A - Christophe Tytgat
The #Europort 2025 Industry Leader Series is speaking to some of the maritime industry’s most influential people, responsible for driving change in key areas vital to securing its future. As Europort continues to showcase advanced ship types such as offshore vessels, dredgers, naval ships, workboats, and inland vessels, we speak to Christophe Tytgat, Secretary General of SEA Europe and CESA. Christophe shares how the maritime equipment manufacturing sector is stepping up to the sustainability challenge and the important work SEA Europe is undertaking.
What attracted you to the maritime industry and how did you get started?
I have always been fascinated by the maritime sector. To be honest, I do not know why as I do not have any maritime links, neither through family nor regionally (I did not grow up in a maritime region and have never lived close to the sea). However, as a child, I often travelled on the English Channel by ferry, going from Ostend (Belgium) to Folkstone or Felixstowe (UK), to do some shopping.
I guess that this English Channel crossing experience contributed to my fascination and certainly explained my deep interest in the how and who of the accidents involving the MS Herald of Free Enterprise and MV Estonia. My interest in the Herald of Free Enterprise accident culminated in an hour-long presentation at school during one of the lectures.
From a professional perspective, I started my career in the maritime industry in the maritime department of the Belgian federal ministry of transport, then with the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA). From 1 March 2016 I have been with in SEA Europe and CESA, where I represent - as secretary general - the interests of shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers across Europe.
Over the last few years, there has been an industry wide drive focused on attracting the next generation. Is there anything else the maritime sector should be doing to attract new talent?
Like many other industries, the maritime manufacturing industry - comprising shipyards and maritime equipment makers - is looking for talent. Attracting and retaining the right talent remains challenging. First, in many Member States, technical education has been insufficiently valued for too long, leading fewer youngsters to opt for technical studies or careers. The lack of political attention or interest in Europe for industries has not helped either. Today, most industries, including shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers are competing for talent, both for classical technical profiles (like welders or pipe fitter) and new profiles related to the sustainability and digital 'twin transition’. This search comes at a time when the working population is aging, amid the challenges of digitalization or automation and sustainability, and the impact of increased geopolitical tensions and trade wars.
As SEA Europe, we have been involved in many EU and national projects aiming to attract people and to reskill the workforce with an aim to filling the skills’ gaps and meeting current challenges. SEA Europe also actively cooperates with other stakeholders, including vocational and education centres, in identifying the industry’s appropriate profiles, in learning from other industries, in exchanging best practices, or in advocating for the mobility of workers and students. SEA Europe also believes that for technical education, exchange programs such as Erasmus+ are highly beneficial.
Many bigger shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers have their own training centres to fill in the gaps left by technical schools. This costly exercise is challenging and could be accommodated with more tailor-made education, adapted to the needs of the industry. For SMEs, this is an even bigger challenge. Therefore, SEA Europe works with relevant stakeholders on ways to share the burden whilst offering the appropriate profiles.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in our industry?
The maritime sector is extraordinarily diverse, encompassing a wide range of stakeholders including shipowners, shipyards, maritime equipment manufacturers, ports, port terminal handling operators, classification societies, and research centres. This diversity makes the sector incredibly fascinating as it brings together various interests and positions within a complex political landscape. Its landscape includes international organizations such as the International Maritime Organization in London, regional entities like the European Union, and national political frameworks.
The resulting complex interplay of economic and political interests creates an ideal environment for those with a keen intellectual curiosity and an open mindset. Individuals with backgrounds in law or politics may find themselves particularly well-suited to navigating the challenges presented by conflicting ideas, ideologies, and viewpoints. The skills required to find common ground or reach compromises in such multifaceted situations are highly valued in this sector.
Moreover, the maritime industry is not just about the movement of goods and passengers across the seas. It is also about the regulation and standardization that ensure safety, environmental protection, and efficient operations. The maritime industry builds all kind of vessels and platforms for commercial, naval, or dual-use purposes - whether complex or not - and integrates cutting-edge technology and innovation, from advanced ship designs to greener propulsion systems, sustainable fuels and technologies or digital systems, sensors, radars, etc. The maritime sector also invests to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions. However, to ensure that these efforts are better known to the wider society, in particular the younger generations, the maritime sector must step up its communication efforts and better spread the word
In terms of economic impact, the maritime industry is a significant contributor to the global economy. Furthermore, it offers numerous opportunities for personal and professional growth. Whether one is interested in the technical aspects of ship design and construction, the operational challenges of running a port, or the legal and regulatory frameworks that govern maritime activities, there is a place for everyone. The dynamic nature of the industry ensures that there are always new challenges to tackle and new knowledge to acquire.
In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge for the industry at the moment when it comes to the maritime equipment sector? How could this be overcome?
The biggest challenge of the past years has definitely been the climate agenda and the need for the maritime sector to reduce its carbon and environmental footprint. In this exercise, the systems, technologies, and equipment produced by maritime equipment manufacturers and integrated onboard a vessel by the shipyard are fundamental to meeting the IMO’s and EU’s climate agendas. This means continuous investments in research, development and innovation of technologies, designs, equipment, fuels, etc. But it all requires significant investment sources - whether from public support or private financing. And here is an important hurdle. Typically, most public financial instruments applicable in the European Union are insufficiently tailored to the needs of the maritime sector, whilst strict obligations imposed upon banks after the 2008 financial crisis prevent them from financially supporting maritime investments, which are often considered to be too risky.
However, with the fast-growing geopolitical tensions and recent trade wars, the key question will be whether the climate agenda and the industry’s efforts to achieve greater sustainability will remain its main focus or whether other priorities, such as defence, will become paramount.
What is the most interesting change/trend you have seen over the last 12 months, and what impact will this have on the wider industry?
In the European Union, the most interesting change over the last 12 months has been the political acknowledgement - after years of political awareness raising from SEA Europe - of the urgent need to issue an industrial maritime strategy for the maritime manufacturing industry in Europe. Such a strategy would help European shipyards to maintain competitiveness in complex shipbuilding and regain competitiveness in markets which have been lost but remain of strategic importance for the EU. The strategy should also introduce the much-needed political and regulatory framework conditions that stimulate the business case for sustainable and digital waterborne transport, to drive demand for sustainable and digital vessels. Investments in this part of the maritime sector will be key to attract, retain and reskill the workforce in readiness for the challenges ahead.