Unctad News

The IMO's Legal Committee met in person for its 111th session at IMO Headquarters in London from April 22 to 26 April 2024, and finalized guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing crimes.These are to be applied where seafarers may be detained in a jurisdiction other than that of the seafarers' nationality on suspicion of committing crimes during the course of their employment on board a ship.The objective is to ensure that seafarers are treated fairly during any investigation and detention by public authorities…

The Legal Committee of the IMO will meet for its 111th session at IMO Headquarters in London from April 22 to 26, 2024. The Committee deals with any legal matters within the scope of the IMO, including issues relating to liability and compensation, fair treatment of seafarers and the registration of ships. This meeting will discuss:1. Abandonment of seafarersSeafarer abandonment happens when shipowners fail to fulfil obligations to seafarers related to timely repatriation, payment of outstanding wages or salary…

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has shared the Organization’s plans and focus areas for the next four years.Speaking at a press conference at IMO Headquarters in London, Dominguez outlined four strategic priorities:• IMO’s work to regulate international shipping;• its support to Member States – particularly Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries;• enhancing public awareness and image; and• relations with people and stakeholders. He said: “As a global industry that is responsible for transporting over 80% of trade around the world, shipping is indispensable.

Freight going through the Suez Canal has dropped by 45% in the two months since attacks by Yemen's Houthis led shipping groups to divert freight, disrupting already strained maritime trading routes, according to UN agency UNCTAD.UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which supports developing countries in global trade, warned of risks of higher inflation, uncertainty of food security and increased greenhouse gas emissions.Shipping companies have diverted ships from the Red Sea since the Iran-aligned Houthi movement…

The shipping industry lacks clarity on future clean fuels and regulatory systems which is holding back companies from replacing ageing vessels amid pressure to decarbonise faster, U.N. agency UNCTAD said on Wednesday.Shipping, which transports over 80% of world trade and accounts for nearly 3% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, has faced calls from environmentalists and investors to deliver more concrete action, including a carbon levy."We call for global action to decarbonise shipping.

The pace of global shipping activity is set to lose steam next year as economic turmoil, conflict in Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic weaken the outlook for trade, U.N. agency UNCTAD said on Tuesday. The world's largest investment banks expect global economic growth to slow further in 2023, following a year roiled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation.The slowdown is expected to impact shipping, which transports more than 80% of global trade, although tanker freight rates could stay high.

Maritime transport is the backbone of international trade and the global economy. Approximately 80% of global trade by volume and in excess of 70% of global trade by value is carried by sea, and millions of tons of goods are handled by ports worldwide according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).South Africa is positioned on a major shipping route with an expansive coastline that traverses two oceans and spans nearly 4 000 kilometers. The country has a vibrant maritime sector that boasts eight commercial ports and 44 non-commercial harbors…

The war in the Ukraine is stifling trade and logistics of the country and the Black Sea region, increasing global vessel demand and the cost of shipping around the world, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. Container shipping and global value chains have been disrupted and many countries have had to look further afield for suppliers of oil, gas and grain.In a report entitled “Maritime trade disrupted: The war in Ukraine and its effects on maritime trade logistics” published on 28 June 28…

Russia's shipping trade has plummeted since Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions push many foreign companies to suspend sailings, adding further pressure on the country's economy, according to freight data.The world's biggest foreign container lines—including the top three MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM and others such as Hapag Lloyd—have temporarily suspended cargo shipments to and from Russia, while multiple companies including home furnishings firm IKEA have shut stores.Food companies Nestle…

Four UN organizations have called for continued global collaboration to address the crew change crisis that at times during the COVID-19 pandemic has left more than 400,000 seafarers stranded at sea.In a joint statement issued on February 28, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) say new challenges and variants of concern like Omicron threaten to worsen the plight of the world’s seafarers…

Pakistan is working to boost the capacity of its shipping fleet to draw on its strategic geographical position and help tackle the effects of a global supply chain crisis, the country’s maritime minister told Reuters.Pakistan has a coastline of over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) and three major ports, including Karachi. It is two days sailing time from destinations in Africa and the Middle East and its western shoreline is close to the Strait of Hormuz oil chokepoint.A surge in…

A surge in container shipping rates poses a threat to the global economic recovery, with small countries dependent on deliveries by sea expected to be hardest hit by a spike in import prices, U.N. agency UNCTAD said on Thursday.A surge in demand for consumer goods during the pandemic has created major supply bottlenecks around the world, which has impacted the supply of container ships and boxes to transport cargo.Shipping and port officials expect global supply chain disruptions…

Africa's largest annual maritime security conference kicked off in Ghana this week amid a sharp rise in piracy and armed robberies in the Gulf of Guinea over the last 12+ months.Hosted by the Ghanaian Navy and Air Force in Accra from July 6-8, the International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC 2021) has brought together several West African Chiefs of Naval Staff and government leaders such as the Vice President of Ghana, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, alongside experts…

The Suez Canal expects 140 ships to pass on Tuesday after the freeing of a container ship stranded for nearly a week allowed it to reopen, but experts warned that disruptions to global shipping and at ports could take months to resolve.The blockage threw global supply chains into disarray, threatening costly delays for firms already wrestling with COVID-19 restrictions, and nearly doubled rates for oil product tankers.Shipping convoys through the canal resumed on Monday evening…

The ongoing oil pollution incident from the grounded 203,000 DWT bulk carrier MV Wakashio is threatening an ecological catastrophe around the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, endangering corals, fish and other marine life already under threat from climate change (IPCC 2018).In addition, it risks bringing devastating consequences for the economy, food security, health and tourism industry. Tourism in Mauritius - a popular destination for its pristine beaches - reportedly contributed about $1.6 billion to its economy during the last year…

Djibouti announced at the United Nations Monday its readiness to facilitate crew change operations for any ships passing through the Bab el Mandeb strait, with the necessary support provided by the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority (DPFZA).The East African country is responding to a joint statement from the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) and UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to support crew changes and ensure that maritime personnel can return…

The Union Cabinet of India approved the proposal for enacting Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 and accession to the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships 2009.According to a governmental release, the proposed bill will restrict and prohibit the use or installation of hazardous material, which applies irrespective of whether a ship is meant for recycling or not.For new ships, such restriction or prohibition on use of hazardous material will be immediate, that is, from the date the legislation comes into force, while existing ships shall have a period of five years for compliance.Restriction or prohibition on use of hazardous material would not be applied to warships and non-commercial ships operated by Government.

The Shanghai port has topped UNCTAD’s 2019 ranking of the world’s best-connected ports, released yesterday (7 August).The Chinese port garnered a connectivity score of 134 points, followed by the ports of Singapore (124.63 points), Pusan (114.45 points) in Korea and Ningbo (114.35 points), also in China. The index is set at 100 for the best-connected port in 2006, which was Hong Kong, China.Besides the Asian ports, the other ports on the top 10 list are those of Antwerp (94 points) in Belgium and Rotterdam (93 points) in the Netherlands. None of the ports in the top 20 list are from Africa, Latin America, North America or Australasia.“A container port’s performance is a critical factor that can determine transport costs and…

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) convenes meeting on ways to build sustainability into freight transport systems, including shipping, to boost trade with and between developing countries.According to UNCTAD, governments, shipping companies and trading industries will need to balance economic, social and environmental concerns to achieve sustainability in maritime transport, experts will say at an UNCTAD meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on 21–23 November.Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation comes just months after the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations specialized agency responsible for the safety…

As part of its strategy to make further inroads into the Japanese shipping market the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) is opening its new office in the heart of Tokyo's Minato district.BMA’s new office at Nishi-Shinbashi was inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas, the Honorable Peter Turnquest.The office will provide direct service to the Japanese maritime market, the world’s second largest in terms of vessel tonnage.Turnquest said: “Japan is a great maritime nation, and The Bahamas Ship Registry is one of the world’s top registries. The Opening of our BMA Tokyo office represents an even closer commitment to serving our valued Japanese shipowner clients.

Among a string of new eco-friendly initiatives, the Marseille Fos port authority is to spend $22 million over the next six years to extend shoreside electrical connections for berthed vessels to every ferry, cruiseship and repair quay within the Marseille eastern harbor.Already available on the Corsica ferry quays, the network will be expanded in two phases to cover North Africa ferry quays and the shiprepair hub by 2022 and the cruise terminal between 2022 and 2025. The zero…

Ship owners accelerated installations of engine emissions cleaning systems this year ahead of stringent new rules in 2020 which sharply reduce the amount of sulphur ships can emit from the 3.5 percent in current bunker fuel to 0.5 percent, according to a report.Vessel operators can either switch to cleaner, but more expensive, marine gasoil or install scrubbers to filter sulphur from dirtier fuel oil.The looming change in International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules has impacted…

About 80% of world trade is carried by sea, but the maritime industry handling these goods is on the frontline of climate woes, unless it adapts - fast.United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the transformation is needed if the world trade system is to cope with the projected impacts of climate change.“The hardest hit areas, coastlines, will affect us all since the lion’s share of trade itself is managed through international shipping and ports,” said UNCTAD’s chief of policy and legislation, Regina Asariotis.This is a fact all actors in the ocean economy must face as it has baring on the trade and sustainable development prospects of all countries…