Tag: ICS

Discussing current security and environmental issues The Board of Directors of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), whose member national shipowners' associations represent all sectors and trades and more than 80% of the world merchant fleet, met in London on 6 February.PiracyICS members reviewed the continuing threat to shipping from Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. Noting that the capability of Somali pirates is actually higher than it has ever been, ICS believes that effective compliance with Best Management Practices by shipping, and sustained military intervention with a more aggressive stance, has reduced the pirates' rate of success. However, the current situation remains totally unacceptable, with about 200 seafarers still being held hostage in the most appalling conditions, with thousands more still having to transit the danger area in constant fear of their lives.ICS national associations agreed to work to ensure that the problem of piracy retains sufficient political and public attention so that the crisis might be properly and decisively addressed during the year ahead.ICS Chairman, Spyros M Polemis explained:"Recent press reports might give the impression that the level of piracy off Somalia is decreasing. However, most ship operators will be aware that this is not an accurate representation ...

Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published its latest annual Shipping Industry Flag State Performance Table.The Table collates various data available in the public domain.Under the supervision of ICS's member national shipowners' associations, the presentation of the Table for 2011 has been modified slightly in order to address feedback from governments. However the purpose is the same: to encourage shipowners to examine whether a flag state has substance before using it and to encourage them to pressure their flag administration to effect any improvement that might be necessary.ICS believes that a balance has to be struck between the commercial advantages of shipowners selecting a particular flag and the need to discourage the use any flag that does not meet its international obligations. While it is shipping companies that have primary responsibility for the safe operation of their ships it is the flag state that must enforce the rules.ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe explained:"ICS makes no apology for continuing to subject flag states to scrutiny, in the same way that ships and company procedures are rightly subjected to inspection by governments. Our overriding interest in promoting high performing flags is that they are less ...

STCW to come into force from January 1st of 2012 ICS is advising shipping companies to ensure they comply with the Manila amendments to STCW, particularly in relation to seafarers' rest hours and the more stringent requirements for preventing drug and alcohol abuse that will apply worldwide from January 1st 2012.The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF) led employer representation at the IMO Diplomatic Conference which adopted the Manila amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW 2010). The Manila amendments begin a phased entry into force from January 1st, 2012.ICS is reminding shipowners that the new STCW minimum rest hour requirements are likely to be vigorously enforced by Port State Control Officers who will have the authority to check that ships maintain accurate records for individual seafarers which demonstrate they have been provided with the required minimum rest. For example, seafarers must now always have at least 10 hours rest in any 24 hour period. To help further reduce the possibility of fatigue, much of the flexibility that previously applied under STCW has now been removed.The new STCW rest hour requirements were developed to ensure that they ...

IAPH joins with WSC, ICS and BIMCO The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has joined with the World Shipping Council (WSC), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and BIMCO in the effort to encourage the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to amend the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) to require, as a condition for stowing a loaded container on board a ship, that the ship and the port facility have a verified actual weight of the container. All four organizations have consultative status at the IMO.The announcement comes as the IMO's Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) subcommittee, which is responsible for improving the safety of container stowage and ships operations, continues its efforts to construct a SOLAS requirement that loaded export containers have a verified weight prior to vessel loading. As instructed by the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), DSC will consider such a requirement at its next session in September 2012 (DSC 17)."Weighing containers to confirm their actual weight is the right operational and safety practice. There is substantial experience with such a requirement in the United States demonstrating that this is feasible on a technological and commercial basis. It is time to make ...

ICS explained that shipping is committed to improving efficiency The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) - the principal international trade association for ship operators representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet - has called on delegates at theUnited Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 17) in Durban, to give the International Maritime Organization (IMO) a clear mandate to continue its work on regulating shipping's CO2 emissions, including the development of Market Based Measures.ICS explained that shipping is committed to improving efficiency per tonne-km by 20% by 2020 with further significant improvements thereafter, and that the achievement of this goal would be greatly assisted by the recent IMO agreement on technical regulations to reduce shipping'semissions.Speaking alongside IMO officials on 29 November at a special UNFCCC event on international transport, ICS Director of External Relations, Simon Bennett, said that it was "no secret that Market Based Measures are controversial.However the shipping industry recognises that the need to prevent climate change is a political challenge as much as a technical one, and thatshipping needs to play a constructive part in the discussion about MBMs."As demonstrated by the recent IMO agreement on technical measures, ICS believes that IMO is ...

Oxfam and WWF join with shipowners to urge agreement for GHG from ships At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP 17, Nov. 28 to Dec. 9, 2011), the global shipping industry, Oxfam and WWF have joined forces to suggest to governments how the further reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping might best be regulated.Oxfam, WWF and the International Chamber of Shipping (which represents over 80% of the world merchant fleet) call on delegates to COP 17 to give the International Maritime Organization (IMO) clear guidance on continuing its work on reducing shipping emissions through the development of Market Based Measures (MBMs).The organisations maintain that an effective regulatory framework for curbing emission of CO2 from international shipping must be global in nature and designed so as to reduce the possibility of 'carbon leakage', while taking full account of the best interests of developing countries and the UNFCCC principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities' (CBDR).This includes the possibility of the adoption by IMO of a compensation mechanism through which a significant share of any revenues collected from international shipping could be directed to developing countries and provide a new source of finance ...

Chamber prefers compensation fund over emissions trading scheme The International Chamber of Shipping on Tuesday joined campaign groups Oxfam and WWF to urge climate talks in Durban to help put a price on polluting emissions from ships, which could help raise funding to tackle global warming.Oxfam and WWF have been pressing for a maritime carbon levy and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents more than 80 percent of the world's merchant fleet, gave its qualified support."If governments decide that shipping should contribute to the UNFCCC Green Climate Fund, the industry can probably support this in principle," ICS Secretary General Peter Hinchliffe said in a statement released to coincide with the Durban talks, which opened on Monday.Previous talks under the aegis of the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change, the parent treaty of the Kyoto Protocol on combating global warming, have agreed on a Green Climate Fund.The Durban meeting is expected to work on the design of the fund, which would channel money to help developing nations tackle climate change.Hinchliffe's conditions to the proposed shipping levy included that details would have to be agreed at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).He also said the industry's preference was for a ...

Shipping, World Trade and the Reduction of CO2 Emissions The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) - which represents all sectors and trades of the global shipping industry and more than 80% of the world merchant fleet - has produced a briefing document for government climate change negotiators, in advance of the next United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 17), which commences in Durban at the end of November.The Document entitled 'Shipping, World Trade and the Reduction of CO2 Emissions' is being distributed via ICS member national shipowners' associations and can be downloaded at www.ics-shipping.org/CO2lowres.pdf ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe explained:"The international shipping industry is firmly committed to reducing its CO2 emissions by twenty per cent by 2020, with significant further reductions thereafter. However, the Durban Climate Change Conference needs to give the International Maritime Organization a clear mandate to continue its vital work to help us deliver further emission reductions through the development of Market Based Measures."The shipping industry hopes that governments at COP 17 will respond positively to the significant IMO agreement, in July 2011, to adopt a package of technical measures to reduce shipping's CO2 emissions - which by 2030 should reduce ships' emissions by 25-30% compared to ...

More than 70,000 vessels each year transit this area - Safety is a priority Navigation safety and environmental protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore could further improve following a detailed investigation into accident reports by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).ICS (as part of a wider initiative being undertaken by the Round Table of international shipping associations) has conducted a survey of incident reports which it is anticipated will result in the development of agreed proposals to enhance the management of traffic in the Straits.With more than 70,000 vessels each year (over 150 a day) transiting this strategically important international waterway, ICS believes it is imperative that safety continues to be prioritised. While only a very small proportion of these transits result in accidents or near misses, the ICS survey has identified heavy shipping traffic, inappropriate speed and the loss of situational awareness as significant factors that need to be addressed.The ICS report praises the skill and professionalism of those managing, operating and navigating ships in the Malacca and Singapore Straits. However, ICS suggests that improvements could be made to the location of pilot boarding areas and the timing of pilot departures. There is also concern about the ...

14th Russian Register Seminar on Quality Shipping in St Petersburg A balance has to be struck between the commercial advantages of shipowners' selecting a particular flag state and the need to discourage the use of flags that do not meet their international obligations, warns the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).Speaking at the 14th Russian Register Seminar on Quality Shipping in St Petersburg, Simon Bennett, ICS Director of External Relations, said: "Shipping is one of the safest and most environmentally friendly modes of transport, yet several high profile casualties have prompted questions from politicians and the media about the performance of flag states. There is understandable concern about shipping companies' use of flags that may not comply fully with international regulations."However, he stressed that distinctions between open registers and so-called national or traditional maritime flags are unhelpful. "The industry's Flag State Performance Table suggests that open registers such as the Bahamas, Liberia and the Marshal Islands enjoy the same very high standards of performance and responsibility as flags such as Denmark or the United Kingdom," he said.ICS has previously developed Shipping Industry Guidelines on Flag State Performance, to accompany its annual Flag State Performance Table.The Guidelines outline what a responsible shipowner ...