Tag: ICS

UN Climate Change Conference DOHA The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is representing global shipowners at the United Nations (UNFCCC) Climate Change Conference in Doha (COP 18).At an event in Doha (27 November) hosted by the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), ICS will report on the further progress being made by shipowners worldwide to reduce their CO2 emissions and improve fuel efficiency.ICS comments on the recent UNFCCC secretariat report on means of long term 'climate financing', which suggests that the international shipping industry should make a substantial contribution to the $100 billion per year Green Climate Fund, established by the UNFCCC Conference in Durban last year to finance climate change adaptation projects in developing countries.ICS explains that, with the full support of shipowners, governments at IMO have already adopted binding global regulations for technical and operational measures to reduce ships' emissions, which will enter into force in January 2013 and will apply to at least 90% of the world's tonnage. "This will greatly assist the industry in meeting its commitments for a 20% efficiency improvement by 2020 and a 50% improvement by 2050. The immediate priority for the shipping industry is to ensure that the ground breaking IMO agreement on ...

Shipping, World Trade and the Reduction of CO2 Emissions

IMO rules should be subject to impact and sustainability assessment says ICS There are some clearly identifiable steps which need to be taken to enhance shipping's already very impressive record of maritime safety, according to International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe.Speaking at the IMO Alternative World Maritime Day Event in Bahrain this week, Mr Hinchliffe stressed the need for mandatory provisions to provide a place of refuge for ships in need of assistance, plus timely and obligatory reporting of casualty investigations by Flag States to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This would replicate the handling of aviation incidents.Environmental protection and crew and passenger safety can be addressed better by raising the current level of guidance on providing a place of refuge to a new level of obligation, he said.Pointing out that accidents may happen even under the most stringent regulatory regimes, Mr Hinchliffe said the industry's ability to learn from such incidents was hampered when accident investigations were not conducted in a timely fashion or the outcomes were not reported to the IMO."The track record of rapidly decreasing environmental impact by the shipping industry is the most powerful measure of the steady increase in the safe design, ...

CMI must listen to ship owners, says ICS

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents over 80% of the world merchant fleet, has welcomed the acknowledgment by governments at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that there will be significant problems with the implementation of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention.However, ICS feels that the type-approval process for expensive new treatment equipment is seriously flawed and that much more work still needs to be done by governments to rectify the current situation. Shipowners are being required to invest billions of dollars in new treatment systems that may not always work in practice.Speaking at the end of this week's meeting of the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC), ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, said: "It is good that many governments seem to accept shipowners' arguments that it will be very difficult indeed to retrofit tens of thousands of ships within the timeline of two or three years after entry into force as the Convention text currently requires. IMO has agreed to develop an IMO Assembly Resolution, for adoption in 2013, to facilitate implementation to work smoothly."In the discussions ahead, ICS will continue to press for its proposed solution that existing ships should be defined as those having been constructed ...

Switch to Low Sulphur Fuel has Implications for Shore Based Industry Too says ICS The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), whose member national shipowners' associations represent more than 80% of the world merchant fleet, has expressed disappointment and concern at a decision by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reject its call to accelerate a critical study into the global availability of low sulphur fuel for ships.A small majority of IMO Members States, led by the United States, rejected an ICS submission to the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which was debated this week in London. Nevertheless, the IMO vote was very close indeed. As well as having the support of major shipping nations such as China and several open registers, ICS was supported by some EU Member States.ICS was pressing for IMO to start work without further delay on a comprehensive fuel availability study that could consider the impact of all the changes required by the new MARPOL Annex VI regime, to reduce atmospheric pollution, before it is too late for the oil refining industry to respond and invest.Shipowners are worried about whether sufficient fuel will be available to allow ships to comply with the strict IMO regulations ...

There are about 70,000 transits by ships each year The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents 80% of the world merchant fleet, has welcomed the outcome of an important meeting between governments to advance navigational safety in the strategically vital Malacca and Singapore Straits, where there are about 70,000 transits by ships each year.During a meeting last week in Singapore, of the 'Co-operative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore' (which involves the littoral states of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia), ICS expressed concern about the continuing lack of new large scale navigational charts.ICS Marine Director, John Murray explained: "We all want to deliver safety and environmental benefits in the Straits which is a primary objective of the Marine Electronic Highway project. But these benefits simply cannot not be realised unless navigational charts are based on modern and appropriate hydrographic surveys."Encouragingly, says ICS, this deficiency was acknowledged at the meeting by the littoral states. India, moreover, one of the many observer nations present, offered the use of a survey vessel to conduct appropriate hydrographic surveys in the area. Training of personnel from Malaysia and Indonesia in hydrography has also been offered. ICS ...

Reversed globalisation possibility raised

Shipping Industry Guidance on Pilot Transfer Arrangements

ICS has called on the IMO to address critical issues The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has called on the IMO to address critical issues concerning the imminent implementation of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention.Despite delays by governments with respect to ratification, the 2004 BWM Convention is expected to enter into force within the next two years.ICS director of regulatory affairs, David Tongue, explained: "Shipping companies represented by our member national associations have serious concerns about the availability of suitable ballast water treatment equipment, the robustness of the type approval process and, above all, the difficulties of retrofitting tens of thousands of existing ships within the time frame established by the BWM Convention."In a submission to the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which meets in October, ICS has requested that the issue of fixed dates for the retrofitting of expensive new equipment by large numbers of ships, perhaps as many as 60,000, needs to be addressed urgently. ICS said that a serious discussion is needed at IMO before the Convention enters into force.In particular, in view of the bottlenecks that will be created when the Convention enters in force, with many ships having to be retrofitted either before ...