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.
Autonomous ship is a marine vessel with sensors, automated navigation, propulsion and auxiliary systems, with the necessary decision logic to follow mission plans, sense the environment, adjust mission execution according to the environment, and potentially operate without human intervention. The maritime industry benefits by autonomous vessels since the latter includes operational efficiency, human error reduction, emission reduction, increased safety, and operational cost reduction.
The International Transport Forum published a report assessing the affect of alliances on the maritime transport chain and its main stakeholders. It also analyses their impacts on competition and what benefits they may bring, as well as policy options for governments.
Although a growing proximity between US President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim is important to deescalate political tension in the Pacific, their alliance could potentially leave 29 Panamaxes unemployed, while providing employment to only 11 Supramaxes, according to Drewry.
In their recent ISCD report, The Baltic Exchange and Xinhua cite what they believe to be the new trends in global shipping, including a shift in new technologies with the emerging concept of intelligent ports and a greater concern for shipping’s environmental footprint with the implementation of green policies.
