Working Party News

Germany's Anneliese Jost has been selected as the recipient of the International Maritime Prize for 2022, the the International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced. The decision was made by the IMO Council at its 129th session, being held July 17-21, after Jost was nominated for the award by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.In its statement supporting her nomination for the prize, Germany cited Jost's "crucial contribution towards achieving the objectives of IMO…

The EU working party responsible for advising the EU Brexit negotiators paid a visit to the port of Antwerp on Monday 28 May. The working party is made up of representatives of the 27 EU countries, the European Commission and the European Council. During their visit to the Border Inspection Post and the Antwerp Gateway Terminal the European diplomats learned about the various procedures involved in importing and exporting goods in and out of the European Union. The aim of the visit was to find out the practical implications of the various Brexit scenarios. Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO van het Havenbedrijf Antwerpen said: "The UK is an extremely important market for the port of Antwerp, generating an annual freight volume of more than 14 tonnes.

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.

On the November 25, 2016 Europe Technologies Group signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Shipbuilding and Repair Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited in Nantes, France. This Trinidad-based ship repair arrangement with the expert guidance of the Europe Technologies Group will provide both project management and skilled personnel in organizing the working party with the ship-owner, the shipyard, the technology owner (which has around 310 LNG carriers equipped with its technologies)…

But now that the LNG Master Plan has come to an end the LNG story is not finished. Far from it: this was just the start, paving the way for promising new projects. Specifically, the port of Antwerp is getting ready to build an LNG bunker station for barges, with the concession agreement due to be signed at the beginning of 2016. The Rhine-Main-Danube LNG Master Plan was formally brought to a close on 16 December 2015 in Rotterdam. Together with 32 other partners from all over Europe the port of Antwerp had contributed towards the objective of making LNG a reality for barge transport, as a clean fuel. This objective fell into two parts: on the one hand to encourage barge operators to use LNG as their fuel…

In a joint position paper submitted by ECSA, ICS and BIMCO to EU member States’ maritime attachés, member States have been urged to ratify or accede to the Protocol of 2010 to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996 (the 2010 Protocol). In its paper, ECSA, ICS and BIMCO highlight a number of reasons for their call to member States, including that a speedy ratification of the 2010 Protocol will establish an international regime for HNS damage, which will provide victims (claimants) of HNS damages with compensation on a very high level (i.e. 350 million USD / 310 million Euros per incident).

The OECD should be cautious about becoming involved in the question of what constitutes an ‘eco-ship’, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said to governments in Paris today at a meeting of the OECD Working Party on Shipbuilding. ICS said it believes that this subject is best left to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) or for shipyards to negotiate with their customers. If further consideration were to be given to an OECD definition of ‘eco-ship’ this should not be used as a justification for future subsidies by governments that might lead to market distortion. Referring to China’s new ship recycling policy whereby…

This special session of the WP6 held on 21, June 2012, was intended to take a fresh look at market distorting factors, so that future efforts can be directed towards those that are the most important, and which would benefit most from further attention by the Working Party. The discussions at this special session will be taken into account during the review of the WP6 mandate before its expiration at the end of 2013, as well as the consideration of its future Programme of Work. PART A. PART B. DO GOVERNMENT SUPPORT MEASURES DISTORT THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY? PART C. INDUSTRY ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES – DO THEY EXIST IN SHIPBUILDING?

The A rated, 100 million North of England P&I club is stepping up its loss-prevention campaign by identifying opportunities within its entered fleet to develop risk-avoidance measures and providing members involved with direct advice and support. The initiative is one of a series of proactive loss-prevention measures discussed by the club’s loss-prevention working party during its recent meeting in Amsterdam. The aim is to ensure North's continued long-term financial strength through an ongoing process of structured identification and mitigation of risks. According to North's head of loss prevention Tony Baker, A risk-based approach…

Shipowners were warned in Greece on December 15 that the increasing financial transparency of P&I clubs was no guarantee of their future financial performance. The warning from the 45 million GT North of England P&I club was given at the Piraeus Marine Club's prestigious annual P&I seminar. North of England director Mike Salthouse, formerly head of the club's Piraeus office, told delegates: 'It has never been easier to monitor a P&I club's financial performance. He said sophisticated regulatory controls, the International Group's comprehensive disclosure requirements and the constant probing by ratings agencies and brokers meant it was very difficult for a P&I club to mislead its members or the industry, either inadvertently or intentionally.

The International Underwriting Association, Lloyd's and the Lloyd's Insurance Brokers' Committee have unveiled a jointly agreed program to reform business processes in the London insurance market. More than 350 organizations that form the market - insurance and reinsurance companies, Lloyd's syndicates and brokers - will now be asked to sign up to a document indicating support for the principles of the program. The report, London Market Principles 2001 (LMP2001), is based on a consultation document published in May, amended to accommodate the extensive feedback received. Ownership of the reforms extends widely across the market, with the common aim to improve customer service, speed up the way the market operates, and create long-term cost savings.

Shipowners want stronger ships. Regulators want stronger ships. Both want new requirements to apply across the industry - a level playing field. In response, the 10 Members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) are progressing technical programs that will lead to more uniform scantling requirements and wastage limits for bulk carriers, oil tankers and, eventually, other ship types. At Posidonia, IACS Chairman Igor Ponomarev outlined work in progress that will culminate in new Unified Requirements (URs) for stronger vessels. For bulk carrier newbuildings, a major initiative - concerned with strength and safe operation - consists of new…

William J. Sember has been appointed vice president offshore development for ABS. Currently, Sember serves as vice president technology & business development, ABS Europe. He will relocate to ABS Worldwide Headquarters in Houston, Texas and assume the new responsibilities effective January 1, 2002. During his 26-year career at ABS, Sember has held a succession of senior positions after starting as a field surveyor, including head of the offshore engineering department and vice president of operations for the eastern region of ABS Europe. Chapter, and the American Petroleum Institute (API) where he was chairman of the Subcommittee on Floating Systems. (IACS) Working Party on Drilling Units.

Elements of the voluntary Guidelines on Ship Recycling will now be considered for mandatory implementation following a decision made by the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine and Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). After some general discussion on the issue of ship recycling, the Committee established a working group and asked this group to identify elements of the IMO Ship Recycling Guidelines which may be suitable for mandatory implementation. This would also require an assessment of the mechanism by which the IMO would implement such requirements. Discussion on the latter issue progressed from talks of amending current IMO Conventions such as SOLAS and MARPOL…

ABS has named William J. President and COO for one of its three divisions, ABS Europe, effective 1 January 2007. Sember replaces Christopher J. who moves to the organization’s worldwide headquarters in Houston, TX, USA to assume the role of President and Chief Operating Officer. surveyor after serving at sea as a marine engineer. Eastern Europe. importantly, our clients,” says ABS Chairman and CEO Robert D. Somerville. of the offshore exploration and production units around the world. Party on Drilling Units. the Center for LNG. the Board for the Centre for Marine CNG Inc. located in St. Newfoundland, Canada. gas. Program at Harvard Business School. license and is a licensed professional engineer. Sember will be located at the ABS Europe headquarters in London.

A Croatian shipyard will build two new Yarmouth to Lymington ferries. The ferries, set to cost about $18.7m, are due on the route before the summer season of 2008. The new design came from a working party made up of staff from the route, managers and representatives from Hart Fenton Naval Architects. It is said the models demonstrated the flexibility of the new vessels to carry a greater and more varied traffic load within a footprint that was only marginally larger than the current vessels and with the same draft. The ferry company said tenders were sought throughout August from a number of British and European shipyards, which had the capacity to build the new ships and were able to offer delivery in the first half of 2008. Source: Isle of Wight Couty Press

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) honored ABS’ Vice President of Energy Development William J. Sember with its RearAdmiral Lauren S. McCready Award during the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) Annual Maritime Technology Conference & Expo in Houston, TX, October 19-21. The award recognizes outstanding commitment and achievement to the maritime industry by an alumnus of the USMMA at Kings Point, New York. It is named after RearAdmiral Lauren S. McCready, one of the founders and builders of the USMMA who is credited with building the institution’s outstanding engineering department. Sember’s selection was unanimous. “I am both humbled and honored to be selected,” said Sember.

The U.S. Vice President of Energy Development William J. 19-21. by an alumnus of the USMMA at Kings Point, New York. Lauren S. with building the institution’s outstanding engineering department. was unanimous. “I am both humbled and honored to be selected,” said Sember. sea as a marine engineer. Development. worldwide. associated offshore terminals. Societies (IACS) Working Party on Drilling Units. the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. engineer.

An inter-industry working party - comprising the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, Intercargo, Intertanko, ITOPF, ITF and OCIMF - has launched an Industry Code of Practice on Ship Recycling, outlining the measures which shipowners should be prepared to take prior to disposing of redundant ships. Speaking at the launch in London, the chairman of the working party, ICS Secretary General, Chris Horrocks, said "The Code is a concerted response to the concerns that have been raised about the working and environmental conditions in some of the world's ship recycling facilities, almost all of which are located in developing countries.