The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF) held their annual meetings in London, from May 18 to 20. The representatives of national shipowners' associations, from the membership of 40 countries, discussed a number of important issues of concern.
The meetings coincided with the centenary of ISF which held its first meeting in London, in May 1909.
ICS reiterated its commitment to helping governments at the IMO deliver a package of proposals for reducing the global shipping industry's carbon dioxide emissions, for consideration by the UNFCCC climate change Conference in December 2009.
"We very much hope that UNFCCC will agree that the development and management of detailed measures for shipping should be directed by IMO. As the industry's global regulator, IMO has successfully delivered an agreement on reducing pollutant emissions such as sulphur from ships, an issue just as complicated as carbon dioxide but on which an impressive global consensus has been achieved," said ICS Chairman/ISF President Spyros M Polemis.
"There is agreement that the IMO package should include measures to improve fuel efficiency, such as the efficiency indexing of new ships and the use of Ship Efficiency Management Plans by all ships," said Mr Polemis. "ICS has also prepared a detailed analysis of the net environmental benefits and commercial implications of the various economic measures that have been proposed by governments as possible means of encouraging emission reductions. This paper will be considered at the crucial meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee in July.
"Whatever is decided it must be applied globally, both for the sake of the environment and the efficiency of an industry that transports 90 percent of global trade. Above all, it must not inadvertently divert the transportation of cargo from shipping to far less carbon efficient forms of transport, such as roads or aviation."
ICS/ISF national shipowners' associations called on governments to extend existing political mandates for the naval protection against pirates provided to merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
"Even if attacks by Somali pirates can be suppressed, current levels of military protection must be sustained or increased. At the moment, despite the efforts of navies, attacks are still increasing in frequency, with about 300 seafarers currently being held hostage. Governments need to recognise that protecting one the world's most strategically vital sea lanes will be a serious ongoing commitment for the foreseeable future," said Mr Polemis.
The ICS/ISF meetings repeated their opposition to the use of armed private security guards being carried on merchant ships but discussed the possibility of having qualified military personnel on board in cases where a shipowner's risk assessment may indicate such a requirement.
"Our position remains that, in our view, the use of firearms by civilians will escalate the threat to seafarers' lives, which is our number one concern," said Mr Polemis.
