Simon Bennett News

The European Parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of including greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector in the European Union's carbon market from 2022, throwing its weight behind EU plans to make ships pay for their pollution.Shipping is the only sector which does not face EU targets to cut emissions, but it is coming under increased scrutiny as the bloc attempts to steer industries towards its plan to become "climate neutral" by 2050.In a vote on Tuesday, EU lawmakers said the bloc's carbon market should be expanded to include emissions from voyages within Europe…

Cargo shipping companies will be exempt from antitrust rules against anti-competitive agreements for a further four years until 2024 because this leads to lower prices and better consumer services, EU antitrust regulators said on Tuesday.First adopted in 2009 and extended for five years in 2014, the consortia block exemption regulation will be prolonged for four more years to April 2024, the European Commission said in a statement.It allows liner shipping operators with a combined market share below 30% to cooperate to provide joint liner shipping services…

Shipping associations have proposed creating a research fund with $5 billion raised by the industry to develop technology to help the sector meet U.N. targets on cutting emissions.The global shipping fleet, which accounts for 2.2% of the world's CO2 emissions, is under pressure to reduce those emissions and other pollution. About 90% of world trade is transported by sea.International shipping associations called on Wednesday for a mandatory contribution of $2 per tonne on fuel used by ships to raise money for a research fund to help develop cleaner technology for the industry.U.N.

Shipping associations have proposed creating a research fund with $5 billion raised by the industry to develop technology to help the sector meet U.N. targets on cutting emissions."The global maritime transport industry has submitted a proposal to form the world’s first collaborative shipping R&D program to help eliminate CO2 emissions from international shipping," said a press note from International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).The proposal include a new non-governmental Research & Development organisation to pave the way for decarbonization of shipping. The other highlights of the proposal are thec ore funding from shipping companies…

The oversupply of tonnage in the shipping industry and unsustainably low freight rates is still a major challenge ten years after the massive downturn of 2008.Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) cautioned that shipping companies needed to show restraint when ordering new ships, to prevent stifling recovery."Yet the dark clouds of protectionism and slowing growth in key economies mean that the avoidance of overordering is now more important than ever,” Bennett said.He acknowledged that individual operators would legitimately make their own individual business decisions regarding new tonnage.“Opinion is still divided on whether the rapid globalisation that has been experienced in the last thirty years may have run its course…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said that it supports the decision in principle by the UN body International Maritime Organization (IMO) that safety or operational concerns about the quality of low sulphur fuels may, in exceptional circumstances, be a valid reason for shipowners to be issued with a Fuel Oil Non Availability Report (FONAR) when the IMO global sulphur cap comes into full effect on 1 January 2020.However, ICS is warning shipowners that this decision by an IMO Sub Committee last week should not in any way be regarded as a ‘free pass’ either to use or carry non-complaint fuel.“FONARs remain a tool of last resort and are not something that a ship will be able to use routinely” said ICS Deputy Secretary General Simon Bennett.

The University of the South Pacific (USP) and The China Navigation Company (CNCo), parent of Swire Shipping and Swire Bulk, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to conduct feasibility studies for the design costs and plan for new generation ships for the Pacific region which is committed to low carbon sea transport.Under the MOU signed on 10 November 2018, Project Cerulean aims to eventually develop a new class of small cargo freighter, which, once proven to be commercially viable to operate, can be scaled up in numbers to provide a cost-effective solution for currently marginalised communities in the Pacific Island Communities and Territories (PICT).In the immediate term…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published the latest version of its Flag State Performance Table, which can be downloaded free of charge via the ICS website. The Table provides a helpful indication of the performance of individual flag states worldwide, which analyses how the administrations included deliver against a number of criteria such as port state control records, ratification of international maritime Conventions and attendance at IMO meetings. This year, a new criteria on participation in the ‘IMO Member State Audit Scheme’ has been included. ICS Deputy Secretary General, Simon Bennett, remarked: “Following the entry into force of amendments to the relevant IMO Conventions, the IMO Member State Audit Scheme has become mandatory.

The Board of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) announced the appointment of Guy Platten to the role of Secretary General, after almost five years in the UK Chamber of Shipping. "Following an extensive and rigorous selection procedure, the Board of ICS is delighted to announce the appointment of Guy Platten to the role of Secretary General," said a press release. Esben Poulsson, ICS Chairman said: “This proved a difficult decision for us, as we interviewed several strong candidates. However, the decision to appoint Guy was taken unanimously by the Board. He will bring with him a broad range of skills including time at sea, demonstrable commercial success, and association work illustrated by his current successful tenure at the U.K. Chamber of Shipping.

Addressing government trade negotiators in the OECD Working Party on Shipbuilding at a workshop on “green growth” in Paris, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) asserted that the shipping industry could only be environmentally sustainable if it is economically sustainable too. “The perennial challenge facing ship owners is overcapacity, aided and abetted by government subsidies and support measures that encourage shipyards to produce ships that are surplus to requirements,” said ICS Director of Policy, Simon Bennett.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), representing the world’s national shipowners’ associations and 80% of the world merchant fleet, has voiced deep concern about a proposed legislation in Canada which it says will interfere with international maritime trade. The Canadian Parliament is giving consideration to legislation that would have the effect of establishing a moratorium on the shipment of crude oil in the waters of Northern British Columbia (Bill C-48: An Act respecting the regulation of vessels that transport crude oil or persistent oil to or from ports or marine installations located along British Columbia’s north coast).

Commenting on the outcome of last week’s meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) – which represents the world’s national shipowners’ associations – says it is pleased with the progress made by IMO Member States on a number of critical environmental regulatory issues that will have a profound impact on the future structure of the global shipping industry. ICS says that IMO…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and IT Energy have announced the launch of the latest release of their acclaimed ISF Watchkeeper software – ISF Watchkeeper 3.5 – developed for maintaining records of individual seafarers’ work hour records, as required by IMO and ILO regulations, and to help prevent crew fatigue and to avoid issues with Port State Control. This major upgrade, which is available free of charge to existing ISF Watchkeeper users on over 8, 000 ships worldwide, has been designed to reflect the evolving needs of those at sea and managers ashore. ISF Watchkeeper 3.5 offers a new working schedule planning tool; a unique means of taking account of international dateline crossings…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published its latest Flag State Performance Table providing an annual overview of the performance of the world’s flag states against a number of criteria such as port state control records, ratification of international maritime Conventions and attendance at IMO meetings. The table, which is available for free from the ICS website, is mainly intended to encourage ship owners and operators to maintain an open dialogue with their flag administrations with respect to any improvements that might be necessary, ICS said.

The global shipping industry has urged the European Union to drop the sector's inclusion in proposals adopted on Wednesday to reform the bloc's carbon market, saying it risks distorting trade and international efforts to cut the sector's emissions. About 90 percent of world trade is transported by sea, with shipping accounting for an estimated 2.2 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and forecast to rise dramatically unless action is taken. The draft reforms of the EU's carbon market post-2020 that were adopted by the European Parliament on Wednesday could result in emissions from the shipping sector being included in the bloc’s emissions trading system (ETS) for the first time.

The shipping industry faces the threat of paying a levy to the European Union on its greenhouse gas emissions as lawmakers from the bloc grow increasingly impatient with the slow progress being made by the global effort to tackle the issue. The industry, which accounts for around 90 percent of goods transported globally, has rejected unilateral moves by the EU, arguing it would distort world trade and instead wants the issue handled through the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nation's shipping agency. Last week EU lawmakers voted in favour of including shipping in draft reforms of the bloc's carbon emissions trading system (ETS), which could see the establishment of a fund set up to compensate for the industry's carbon footprint.

The global trade association for shipowners, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), says that a unilateral decision by the European Union to incorporate international shipping into its regional Emissions Trading System (ETS) will polarise and impede current discussions on additional CO2 reduction measures at the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO). “Non-EU nations will be disappointed and very concerned by yesterday's vote in the European Parliament Environment Committee following IMO's adoption just a few weeks ago of a comprehensive road map for action,” said ICS Director of Policy and External Relations, Simon Bennett.

At the UNFCCC Climate Conference (COP 22), in Marrakesh, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said that the recent International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreement on a CO2 Road Map for shipping is a significant decision giving further impetus to the substantial CO2 reductions that are already being delivered by the global industry. At an official UNFCCC side event organised by IMO today, ICS Director of Policy and External Relations, Simon Bennett, said, “We are very optimistic that initial CO2 reduction objectives can now be developed by IMO for the sector by 2018.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) will focus clearly on its core agenda this year, with experts from key areas of industry across the board speaking at its 2016 International Shipping Conference, to be held at the British Library on Wednesday 7 September. Principal speakers include Kitak Lim, Secretary-General, IMO; Ian Parry, Principal Environmental Fiscal Policy Expert, International Monetary Fund (IMF); and Esben Poulsson, new Chairman of ICS. Reducing CO2 emissions is high on the list of priorities for the industry, and this is reflected in the programme, with an ‘all parties’ session on the issue, chaired by John Adams…

Around 300 people gathered in Tokyo on May 12 to attend a ship recycling seminar held by leading classification society ClassNK. In addition to ClassNK representatives, top industry experts from Asia and Europe discussed the current challenges of ship recycling and what the industry can do to support safe and environmentally sound recycling practices. Koichi Kato, Deputy Director-General for Engineering Affairs, Maritime Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), opened the seminar with a keynote address.

At the United Nations in New York, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is representing the interests of shipowners at the opening session of a UN Preparatory Committee starting work on a new legal instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The establishment of the new UN Preparatory Committee, under the auspices of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, follows the decision of the United Nations General Assembly, in 2015, that UNCLOS should be expanded to include a new legally binding instrument on the conservation of marine life in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This is particularly relevant to shipping because the new UN instrument could include area-based management tools such as Marine Protected Areas on the high seas.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published its Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table for 2015/2016, which can be downloaded free of charge via the ICS website. The ICS Table provides an annual overview of the performance of the world’s ship registers against a number of criteria, using data available in the public domain. ICS is keen to draw attention to the impressive number of positive indicators that are now being achieved by those flag states which are used by the vast majority of ship operators.

Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia should fulfil their obligations under international maritime law by rescuing thousands of migrants adrift at sea and avoiding "mass casualties", shipping experts said on Friday. landing, despite a request by the United Nations to rescue them. "We will have mass casualties on our hands if there is not an immediate and concerted search-and-rescue operation by countries in the region," said David Hammond, a maritime law expert and founder of charity Human Rights At Sea. The migrants have been at sea in rickety boats for weeks with little water and food following a crackdown by the Thai government on human trafficking.