Intertanko Council News

The Council of Members of the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) has agreed that international shipping should strive to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. This doubles the level of ambition set in the International Maritime Organization’s Initial Strategy for GHG Emissions Reductions from International Shipping (IMO GHG Strategy), which currently calls for international shipping to reduce its emissions by 50% by 2050.INTERTANKO, which represents the majority of independent tanker owners and operators worldwide…

Dr. Nikolas Tsakos of Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. was reelected for two further years by the INTERTANKO Council who met this week in London. The Council members also engaged in dialogue with the IMO Secretary General, Kitack Lim, as well as the Rt Hon John Hayes CBE, Minister of State (Department for Transport). Lim, who has been Secretary General since January 2016, expressed his positive views about the contribution of INTERTANKO to the regulatory process at IMO: “The contribution made by INTERTANKO to the regulatory process at IMO has been of tremendous value over many decades. The Rt Hon John Hayes CBE, whose role as Minister of State (Department for Transport) covers the shipping industry, also addressed the Council, where he provided a brief view on the impact of Brexit.

The Ship Inspection Report (SIRE) programme developed by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) intended that tanker inspection reports should be shared by all OCIMF members. They are not. The cost of inspections should be shared by both parties. They are not. And to make matters worse, ship operators often have to pay the costs of luxury travel for inspectors. INTERTANKO's Chairman, Graham Westgarth of GasLog Ltd, who had been re-elected for a third two-year term as Chairman of the Association…

Tanker owners continue to be deeply concerned that the current tanker market is seriously jeopardizing the sustainability of the tanker industry. Speaking recently to Intertanko’s Council in London, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Koji Sekimizu, pointed out just how much the tanker industry contributes to the world economy. “Without the tanker industry, the world cannot survive - this is fact and reality,” he emphasized. Intertanko’s Managing Director Katharina Stanzel, went on to say, “The sustainability of the tanker industry is a balancing act between economics, tanker safety, the environment, and the demands of our global society which depends on the safe transportation of liquid energy for its way of life.

The controversial move was agreed at last week’s INTERTANKO Council meeting in Singapore and negotiating an acceptable outcome could be one of the first tasks to be undertaken by the association’s newly voted-in Managing Director Katharina Stanzel when she takes over as head of the secretariat on July 1st. Joe Angelo, INTERTANKO’s outgoing Managing Director, said “We will look into the issue of making the area a war zone. By making it a war zone, it gives the owner the option of whether he wants to go through the zone or not. If it is a war risk area they have to go through it and deal with the issues associated with that. There is a big difference.”  According to Sean Moloney of SMI.

INTERTANKO launches PhD Fellowship in Marine Pollution Law at World Maritime University. INTERTANKO is to fund a three-year PhD study into the emerging law and policy on criminal liability for marine pollution and the effects of this on seafarers. INTERTANKO will be working with the World Maritime University (WMU) and with the individual student chosen to undertake this important work. INTERTANKO’s Council has identified criminalisation as a high priority item for the INTERTANKO Work Plan.

INTERTANKO’s Council will be invited at its October meeting in Singapore to appoint Joseph Angelo, Deputy MD, to succeed Peter Swift as Managing Director on his retirement on 31 December, 2010. In addition, Katharina (Kathi) Stanzel has been appointed Deputy MD. INTERTANKO had an overwhelming level of interest in the position and some highly qualified and capable individuals were shortlisted. “We are grateful and flattered by some of the names who threw their hat into the ring,” says Graham Westgarth, INTERTANKO’s Chairman. Joe Angelo has worked for INTERTANKO for six years, first as Director of Regulatory Affairs and the Americas. Prior to joining INTERTANKO he held various senior roles in the United States Coast Guard…

An historic agreement was struck last week when the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 57) reached agreement on a package of amendments and revisions to MARPOL(*) Annex VI (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) which, subject to formal adoption at MEPC 58 in October 2008, will enter into force through the tacit amendment procedure in February 2010. These measures provide for the wellbeing of our environment, and of those who live and work on ships or near ports. They address regional and global concerns on sulphur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from both new and existing ships in an integrated manner…

Discussion at INTERTANKO's Council and Executive Committee meetings in London last week emphasized the depth work by the association and its members since the last Council meeting in April. This has reached from lobbying to both industry and politicians, to discussions and negotiations at IMO; from work in the EU and US to Asia; from environmental issues to industry relationships and chemical issues; and also an increasing range of member services. INTERTANKO has actively engaged in matters arising from the Prestige accident - specifically the accelerated phase-out of single-hull tankers, restriction on the carriage of heavy oils to double-hull tankers, expansion of the Condition Assessment Scheme (CAS).

INTERTANKO's Council unanimously elected Stephen Van Dyck as the Association's new Chairman during the recent Dubai Tanker Event. Van Dyck is chairman of Florida-based Maritrans Inc. which operates over 475,000 dwt of ocean-going Super Barges (11) of 21,000-56,000 dwt and handy tankers (4) of 35-40,000 dwt. He has been with the company since 1974, became COO in 1975 , President in 1981 and CEO and Chairman in 1987. Over thirty years he has built a shipping operation widely respected for its high quality operations and strong financial performance. His "Not One Drop" programme has now been going for 15 years and has led to zero oil spills in 2002 and just 16 gallons in 2003 including deck spills…

INTERTANKO’s fleet has grown by 12.5% or 21.3m deadweight tons to 194m dwt owned by independent tanker owners as tankers belonging to fifteen owners put up to its Council for their consideration were approved. 16 applications for associate membership were also considered and approved by Council. The two biggest owners entering are Frontline (13.3m dwt) and American Eagle Tankers (6.1m dwt). The next six largest entries are Marmaras Navigation, Sea Fortune Shipping, Estoril Navigation, A.K.Shipping and Trading, Eastwind Shipmanagement, FR8 Shipmanagement, and Calisa SpA, with 1.6m dwt between them. Also JB Ugland, Zest Shipping, FAL Shipping, Transmarine Management, Chemmariner Shipping, with 250,000 dwt between them.