Operations

Major shipowner associations vow to extend cooperation

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) have jointly signed a memorandum of understanding in Singapore to extend their collaboration.

The three associations together comprise broad memberships of the national shipowners’ associations located in around 50 countries and territories and encompass collectively more than 90% of the world’s merchant tonnage. The MOU codifies the extensive level of cooperation between them and provides a framework for closer cooperation.

“Shipping is a global industry requiring global rules. It is only natural that as the representatives of the world’s national shipowner associations that we should further cement our relationships to ensure that we work as effectively as possible in support of a global regulatory framework for shipping and in opposition to unwelcome regional or unilateral initiatives that may impede the efficiency of maritime trade,” said ICS chairman Esben Poulsson.

“It is vital that the interests of Asian shipping, which controls an increasingly large proportion of the world fleet, are properly represented at the global level, especially with the increasing importance of Asian economies to overall demand for shipping services. It is of utmost importance that shipowners outside our region are fully aware of local developments that may affect their operations,” commented ASA president, Bhumindr Harinsuit.

“The maritime policies of the European Union have a significant impact on regulatory developments at fora such as the UN IMO, with major implications for ship operators in Europe and globally. Cooperation with ICS and ASA allows us to enhance our joint efforts to represent the best interests of shipowners, whether at bodies such as IMO or when dealing with the EU institutions,” added ECSA President, Panagiotis Laskaridis.

 

 

 

Jason Jiang

Jason is one of the most prolific writers on the diverse China shipping & logistics industry and his access to the major maritime players with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives. Having been working at Asia Shipping Media since inception, Jason is the chief correspondent of Splash and associate editor of Maritime CEO magazine. Previously he had written for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week.
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