Danish Shipowners’ Association: Shipping must unite to handle incoming legislation

Copenhagen: Claus Hemmingsen, the chairman of the Danish Shipowners’ Association uses the Maritime CEO platform today to call for shipping the world over to unite or else face being swamped and hit hard by vast amounts of damaging legislation.

Hemmingsen is a member of Maersk’s executive board and CEO of Maersk Drilling. He tells Maritime CEO: “Shipping must unite more than in the past. There is a lot of legislation coming in that is not necessarily that well thought out.”

He says his association and others should use the likes of the International Chambers of Shipping and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations to ensure better dialogue with the International Maritime Organization and national governments around the world.

On the home front, Hemmingsen said the association, whose members make up the eighth largest shipowning community in the world, continues to work with the government to ensure owners have, what he calls a “competitive environment”.

As chairman, Hemmingsen says an ongoing challenge he is constantly working on is to attract the right amount of seafarers and officers.

The association is one of the key organisers of this week’s Danish Maritime Days.