ICS Publishes Annual Review

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published its latest Annual Review of maritime policy and regulatory developments in advance of its Annual General Meeting. (The ICS AGM is being hosted by the Cyprus Shipping Chamber in Limassol from 11-12 June, during its 25th anniversary year.) 

The 2014 Annual Review covers the wide-ranging scope of ICS’s activities as the world’s principal international trade association for ship operators, and can now be downloaded free of charge from the ICS website (www.ics-shipping.org/docs/annualreview2014). 

Printed copies are being distributed via ICS’s 34 member national shipowners’ associations, which collectively represent all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet at international regulatory bodies that impact on shipping, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 

The 2014 ICS Annual Review focuses on a number of key issues, including: issues relating to the implementation of new IMO requirements for low sulfur fuel in Emissions Control Areas from January 2015; outstanding concerns surrounding the implementation of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention; enforcement of the ILO Maritime Labor Convention (MLC); and developments with respect to piracy and hostage taking. 

In his introduction to the Review, ICS Chairman, Masamichi Morooka, focuses in particular on the need for governments to address questions regarding the implementation of impending environmental regulations: “The shipping industry is about to invest billions of dollars in order to further improve its already impressive environmental performance. In parallel therefore it is reasonable for shipowners to expect that governments will properly implement and enforce these new regimes”. 

The ICS Annual Review also addresses developments in maritime safety, including a reflection on the industry’s improvements in the 25 years since the ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill. Updates with respect to labor affairs, manning and training, maritime law and insurance, and shipping and trade policy are also provided. 

“The Annual Review is intended to provide an overview of just some of the many matters on which ICS is representing the views of the global shipping industry” remarks Mr. Morooka. “It is still a source of amazement to me just how many issues ICS seeks to cover, with the support of its member national shipowners’ associations and regional partners.” 

The ICS AGM will be preceded on Tuesday 10 June by a Summit on the ‘Sustainable Development of the Maritime Transport Sector’ between members of the ICS Board of Directors and Governments, hosted by the Government of Cyprus. Attendance is expected by shipping ministers and senior officials from Bahamas, Denmark, Greece, Malta, Russia, United Kingdom and United States.