INTERCARGO held its Semi-Annual Meetings in Tokyo in late May, with key agenda items including quality, sustainability, GHG emissions reduction, and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating system.
Numerous members and guests from both Japan and abroad attended the Association’s functions. INTERCARGO’s Executive Committee and Technical Committee discussions focused on issues affecting the dry bulk sector. According to INTERCARGO, its members, while supportive of the IMO’s decarbonisation aims, expressed serious concerns that the CII, in its current form, will unfairly penalise the sector.
To remind, The CII rating system is a regulatory measure developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to assess and rate the carbon intensity of ships. It measures the amount of CO2 emitted per unit of transport work (e.g., per ton-mile) and assigns a rating from A to E, with A being the most efficient and E the least.
The issue of the CII again featured heavily in discussions with members at our meetings in Tokyo. INTERCARGO’s members feel very strongly that the CII, in its current format, needs a fundamental reconsideration to account for the operating conditions in our sector.
… said Dimitrios Fafalios, Chairman of INTERCARGO
Also prominent on the agenda of INTERCARGO in Tokyo were discussions on:
- safety & quality operations;
- INTERCARGO’s messaging via ESG;
- recommendations on Port State Controls; and
- macro-economic impacts on the dry bulk shipping, such as conflicts leading to re-routing of vessels and increased insurance costs.
While we are, of course, supportive of the IMO’s environmental aims, they must be enforced in a fair and equitable manner across the maritime spectrum. They also need to be applied in way that is not potentially damaging to the shipping industry, as well as to avoid the wider adverse effects on economies and on end consumers.
… commented Fafalios
According to INTERCARGO, the location of Tokyo was chosen specifically to highlight the importance of Japan to the dry bulk sector. Japanese economic growth has contributed hugely to trade in dry bulk, a sector that has supported one of the world’s largest network of shipbuilders, with many shipyards across Japan including the world’s leading ship builders and designers of dry bulk vessels.
