Following the COVID-19 pandemic, shipping alliance informed that more than 100.000 seafarers are stranded at sea, due to the shutdowns which prevent them from entering, transiting countries or even finding flights so as to return home.
The United Arab Emirates joined the United States-led commission aiming to protect marine safety, navigation and worldwide trade. The Director of the International Security Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation noted that this alliance adds to worldwide as well as local attempts to prevent threats to marine navigation and global trade, contributing to the conservation of international tranquility and safety and thus establishing the flow of energy supplies to the global economy.
Two companies in cement shipping have announced that they will jointly market their respective fleets of pneumatic cement carriers. Namely, Hamburg-based Baltrader and Philadelphia-based United Bulk Carriers will collaborate under the newly launched Cement Carrier Alliance.
New York-based shippers association Gemini Shippers Group announced it has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), an organization seeking to developing best practices and standards for blockchain in the transportation industry.
Norway-based Wallenius Wilhelmsen became the latest shipowner to join the Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 (CSA 2020), increasing the organisation’s membership to 35 shipowners operating a combined fleet of almost 2500 vessels.
On 13-15 February, European dockers and seafarers met in Hamburg to discuss EU port and maritime policies. The matter discussed, was among others, the revision of the EU’s Consortium Block Exemption Regulation (CBER), which governs fair competition in the shipping sector.
Organisations representing the main maritime logistics industry stakeholders, as well as EU national maritime authorities, met on February 8 in Paris to discuss about the EU Consortia Block Exemption Regulation. The associations attempted to assess the validity of the BER, which provides the liner shipping industry an exemption from normal competition rules.
ESPO has not taken a stance on whether the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation should expire or be prolonged, but stressed the need for more monitoring of the current situation, in particular as regards the impact on the market power balance and the benefits for the consumer.
A team of almost 30 global companies launched the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) earlier in January, committing over $1 billion to advance solutions to eliminate plastic waste, mostly in the ocean environment. In this video, Martin Brudermüller, CEO of BASF, one of the co-founding companies, explains why the alliance is so important.
The cross value chain Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), currently made up of nearly 30 member companies, seeks to develop and bring to scale solutions that will minimize and manage plastic waste and promote solutions for used plastics by helping to enable a circular economy.
