SHIP MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL ISSUE 105

STRAIGHT TALK

Not having your cake

to eat

Recent news that global rice shortages could impact seafarers makes concerning reading, especially when considering the worries raised by elements of the industry that not having the correct provisions is a particular challenge for Galley crews. Not only does it impact on their organisation of the Galley, but it can also lead to resentment from other crew members.

Anyone who has been to sea will know that mealtimes are very important and, according to catering management specialists MCTC, seafarers look forward to a particular meal they often enjoy with their families at home and if that is not available for whatever reason, the Chef must deal with the upset among their colleagues. It is a constant pressure to perform and deliver the right meals for crews.

An army, they say, marches on its stomach and you could skew that idiom and say a ship sails on a well-fed crew. But it raises the question about the relationship that owners and managers, the buyers, have with the suppliers. Is it the sort of long-lasting cooperative relationship we all strive for, or

is it one based on who can supply at the cheapest cost, and able to offer the longest payment terms?

Ship supply is changing, the appearance of the larger bulk buying platforms are evident, and major supplier groups are hoovering up competitors in other parts of the world to corporatise the whole process. But if owners and managers lack steadfast buyer-supplier arrangements then they are going to rely on the smaller local suppliers when their ship comes into port and needs some rice and a bottle of HP Sauce, which may not be available.

But spare a thought for the supplier, because he/she is still prevented from entering some ports around the world to supply a ship, unless they pay the port gates a ‘special payment’ to earn the right to visit the ship, and when they have supplied the ship, they can be waiting months for payment, with arrest of the ship often their only final course of action. As one supplier told SMI: ‘I was owed £25K over a two year period, it went to court and the judgement went in my favour, but with the request that we arrange a year long repayment programme.’ l

bjaques@elaboratecoms.com

On the front foot with PI insurance

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) can help ship managers stay a step ahead in tackling today’s marine Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance challenges, as CEO Tom Irving explains.

The world has seen several significant events over the past four years, which have affected different parts of the shipping industry, including the marine insurance sector, which has seen notable changes to professional indemnity (PI) insurance and claims, according to Tom Irving, CEO of ITIC, one of the world’s leading providers of PI insurance to the transport industry.

“PI insurance is part of our member’s risk management strategy for their business,” he explains. “This gives the ship manager peace of mind and protects the company against claims. The benefit of having cover from a company such as ITIC, which insures more than 150 ship managers, is you have an insurer who understands the business and risks ship managers face and who speaks the language of the ship manager.

“If a member has a problem, we do not start from scratch. We have the knowledge and specialty to address these challenges, and most of the time, we have handled similar cases before. The key for ITIC is maintaining an insurance company that understands the business and that pays continuity credit to our members.”

However, ITIC is facing the headwinds of more complex and higher value claims from across the maritime landscape, with vessel mismanagement and fraud cases on the rise and anticipated challenges for ship managers resulting from the expansion of the existing EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to the shipping industry very much at the forefront of ITIC’s thinking.

The Covid-19 pandemic already broke a number of traditional conventions, including how and where people work, with many now hybrid workers. According to Irving, while ITIC saw some PI claims that usually “would not happen if the person was working in an office with supervisors on hand”, the impact was less than initially feared.

“During the pandemic, many regulations and measures, such as when and how crew changes were made, changed at the drop of a hat,” he says. “There was a resulting increase in claims as ship and crew managers failed to follow updated regulations effectively.” Moreover, geopolitical events since, including the war in Ukraine, have put increased strain on the marine insurance sector to continue providing adequate levels of cover.

However, “As an insurer, we are in a strong position to withstand inflationary pressures, notes Irving. “Our focus remains on our core business. We might expect an increase in the volume of claims, and with economic pressure, claims will also be more costly now than, for example, 10 years ago. However, we are well prepared to weather these storms.”

Members’ risks

The impact of the EU ETS (Emissions Trading System), which comes into force in January 2024 for the marine sector, remains a critical issue for ship owners and managers, with uncertainty about the potential risks and claims that may arise. Ship managers are concerned about how the new rules will affect them, says Irving, as well as the potential of being dragged into disputes around the management of the scheme.

As part of its involvement in revising the current BIMCO Ship Management (SHIPMAN) contract, ITIC is also involved in the subcommittee working on a standard Emission Trading Scheme Allowances (ETSA) subclause. The clause will allocate costs and responsibilities for obtaining, transferring, and surrendering emissions allowances (EUAs) for ships operating under an emissions scheme. A draft standalone was due to be presented to BIMCO’s Documentary Committee for possible adoption by mid-October.

Irving says that one of the more prevalent risks facing ship managers are claims arising from the alleged failure to return vessels to owners in the same condition as when they were taken under their management. ITIC’s advice is for managers to undertake a pre-management survey so as to be able to present evidence as to the condition of the vessel should a dispute arise.

In a similar fashion, he highlights that ITIC continues to see claims where ship managers oversee the refurbishment of vessels. Although these types of repairs should be made within a specific budget designated by the vessel’s owner, often these run over budget, with ship owners increasingly looking at ways to recuperate any resulting losses – usually from the ship manager.

Cybercrime also continues to be a hot topic, with digital fraud becoming more common for those in the shipping sector as it digitalises. ITIC’s advice is to double-check with suppliers in the event of requested payments to different accounts, as well as closer checks and controls of employees responsible for purchasing to avoid embezzlement.

Irving adds that ship managers should not only have PI insurance themselves but also be co-assured on the P&I and Hull policies of the owner. It is an ITIC requirement that P&I policies should be placed with an International Group (IG) P&I Club.

Regarding settlement, ITIC is known for quickly and effectively resolving issues and paying claims, with more than US$ 450 million paid out in claims since 1992. Its claims team offers practical guidance on the best way forward, be it disputing a member’s liability, attempting settlement negotiations or paying the claim.

“Problems are a natural part of any business, and the shipping industry is no different, “concludes Irving. “What varies is the complexity involved in any maritime claim.

“For almost 100 years, ITIC has remained a stable partner for our members, helping them to weather many storms and ensure they are prepared for any eventuality. It is our aspiration to be here for the next 100 years, adapting with our members as their business changes so as to ensure that we can continue to tackle these global challenges together.” l

Leadership change at Wallem

The Board of Directors of Wallem Group has announced that John-Kaare Aune (above left) will be stepping aside as Wallem Group’s CEO and after a period of transition will leave in January 2024, to be succeeded by John Rowley (right). Having joined Wallem in 2019 as Managing Director, Shipmanagement, John-Kaare Aune was appointed as Group CEO in January 2021.

Nigel Hill, Wallem Group Chairman, said: “On behalf of the Wallem Board, I would like to thank John for his leadership and dedication over the past three years as CEO. We are grateful for his hard work and commitment in stabilising Wallem’s operations and positioning the company for growth after what has been a challenging time for the maritime industry. We respect John’s decision, and he leaves with our thanks and best wishes for the future.”

On his departure, John-Kaare Aune, outgoing Wallem Group CEO, said: “It was a difficult decision to step aside as the Wallem Group CEO. However, with operations having normalised after the impact of the pandemic, I felt that the time was right. Now that my successor has been identified, I will be exploring new opportunities.

“It has been an honour to have had the opportunity to be part of the Wallem Group, we have improved

client service levels, continued the digitalisation of the company services, and set the foundation for Wallem’s journey towards decarbonisation. I would like to thank our shareholders, Board of Directors, our excellent clients and all my colleagues ashore and at sea for their support during my time at Wallem. I wish the Wallem Group and my successor every success in the years to come.”

Following Aune’s departure, the Wallem Board has appointed John Rowley (pictured, right) to succeed him, with effect from 1st January 2024. John is currently Senior Vice President Global Food and Transportation Divisions at NSF, prior to which he was CEO SAI Global Assurance following eight years on the executive team at the Lloyds Register Group, as CEO Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) as well as the Group’s Asia Pacific President.

On John Rowley’s appointment, Nigel Hill, Wallem Group Chairman, said: “We are delighted to appoint John Rowley as Wallem Group’s next CEO with his experience in, and understanding of, the global maritime industry and his successful track record of accelerating revenue growth across a number of industry sectors. The Wallem Board and I look forward to working with him to ensure the success of the next stage of Wallem’s journey.”l

NorthStandard looks to offer ‘P&I fit for the future’

Seven months after its formal launch,

NorthStandard is already realising tangible benefits from combining two of the best-known names in global marine insurance. Following an internal restructuring process which ended on 1 September, NorthStandard says the foundations are in place to deliver the full advantages of consolidating North P&I and Standard Club under a single organisation.

“Upholding service excellence has been critical during an extraordinary period of uncertainty for shipping,” said Jeremy Grose, co-Managing Director, NorthStandard. “Doing so while combining two legacy marine insurance businesses worldwide confirms our confidence that a consolidated NorthStandard is fully equipped for shipping’s urgent and future challenges.”

Grose added that a rise in the mutual poolable tonnage entered with NorthStandard over the period indicated that the market shared the Club’s convictions. Growing by just over 2.5% between 20 February and 31 August 2023, NorthStandard’s mutual poolable tonnage increased to approximately 260 M GT.

“We are very grateful for the trust being placed in NorthStandard by new and existing Members alike over the first half-year in operations,” said Grose. Despite the continuing global economic and political turbulence, NorthStandard’s financial position at the half year point remains resilient, with positive investment returns, a small underwriting surplus, and an increase in free reserves forecast.

After a reorganization allocating blue-water mutual Members to one of six Geographical Sectors and putting diversified products under the care of Specialty Sectors, NorthStandard’s new structure maintains the tailored and personal service of both legacy clubs as well as providing a sharper activity focus that pools expertise to target growth opportunities globally.

Following the launch, NorthStandard has seen continued growth across its diversified business

divisions, thanks to the support from new and existing members and clients. “These are wins based on quality of service, but value for money has also been critical,” commented Paul Jennings, co-Managing Director, NorthStandard. “As well as delivering on plans for diversification, the new organisation is proving resilient against inflationary pressures.”

Bringing the legacy businesses under a single roof in Singapore earlier this year has offered a model for balancing a consolidation strategy committed to retaining expertise while eliminating duplicated costs other than by reducing headcount. In this case, a move to a single premises reduced the cost base as previously each region was separately assessed, said Jennings.

NorthStandard had also worked with its reinsurers to negotiate broader agreements for the period ahead, said Grose. “Our reinsurance partners have shown an exceptional and highly appreciated flexibility in helping NorthStandard to secure a key benefit of consolidation,” he said.

Some administrative savings will accrue from February 2024, as insured parties migrate away from legacy policies to unified NorthStandard cover, while the Club is also evaluating the legal cost benefits of reducing the number of its registered insurance entities from the current five.

The tangible gains would influence NorthStandard’s position on this year’s renewal discussions and contribute to building what Grose described as “P&I that is ‘fit for the future’ to support Members in adapting to an increasingly complex maritime world”.

“We are cultivating a new role which seeks to lead and challenge shipping’s key debates in a constructive way,” he said. “The impact of sanctions through 2022-23 has shown that P&I holds a special place in global trade and that governments and regulators are increasingly likely to impose operating restrictions on shipping as part of their policy implementation.” l

InterManager Outlook

Having the courage to stand by our Principles

InterManager President Mark O’Neil explains why the association’s new General Principles of Conduct and Action are a game changer for the ship management sector

How do you know whether your ship manager is performing well? And how can a ship manager be confident that what they are doing meets the highest standards? These are questions that previously we could not have readily answered – well now we can! Working together collaboratively, members of InterManager – and our membership includes diverse ship managers and associated service providers including eight of the top 10 shipmanagement firms – have developed and adopted wide-ranging General Principles of Conduct and Action.

These new General Principles send a powerful message to the shipping industry that InterManager members meet the highest industry standards and that we aren’t afraid to open ourselves up to scrutiny to prove this. What other professional body welcomes third party assessment? InterManager members have nothing to hide – we are on a journey to raise standards and we’re sailing there in a transparent ship.

I commend my InterManager colleagues for their bravery in producing and adopting these General Principles, which were announced during London International Shipping Week and which we are confident

will transform the ship management sector for good, raising standards across the globe.

Let’s be honest – shipmanagement has not always enjoyed a glowing reputation and we are all aware of a few within our sector who disappoint. Having these General Principles in place now gives the wider shipping industry a means by which to judge their ship managers, and indeed other ship service suppliers.

Shipping needs the ability to differentiate between the good, the bad and the ugly and that’s what we’ve now provided.

Ship managers are an increasingly important element of the global shipping industry. Currently only around 16% of the ship management and services business is outsourced but within InterManager we believe this figure should be closer to 40%. If as an industry we collectively improve I am confident this is achievable and by working together in this way we will all benefit. This is not for the few, it’s for the many. Together we are stronger.

So what next you may well ask. We are currently disseminating all this information throughout our membership to ensure they understand the requirements

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and the process for meeting the General Principles. Next we will be encouraging our members to undertake the self-assessment within the next six months. We’ve provided clear guidance for this within our General Principles and the process is not onerous. In the following year our programme of random thirdparty audits will commence, verifying standards and giving the market further confidence in our membership.

For those who question why sign up to ‘another industry audit’ I point out that there is nothing like our General Principles. TMSA, for example, only covers about 4,000 ships. Our Principles are wide-ranging and include key areas within our remit. They will become a fundamental distinguishing factor for InterManager members and our associate members.

I must stress that the purpose of our General Principles is not discriminatory and this is not a pass or fail situation. We intend for our members to aspire and to improve. Every company is urged to

examine its business practices, its ESG, its treatment of seafarers and staff etc, in line with our self-assessment criteria to assess how well it is doing. We all have room for improvement however good we think we are.

Ship managers compete for business, of course we do. But I firmly believe that there are areas in which we do not, and should not, compete – such as safety and the treatment of crew. As professionals we must always aspire to improve and share knowledge.

And the crucial plus point about our General Principles is they provide

our customers with the ability to properly differentiate within our sector. InterManager members are the gold standard. We willingly open ourselves up to scrutiny and I would expect discerning clients to opt for companies that aspire to these Principles and are open to audit.

Indeed, why wouldn’t you? l

Mark O’Neil, CEO of Columbia Group, is serving his second term as President of InterManager and has spearheaded the development of the association’s General Principles of Conduct and Action.

ICS launches CII Data Collection System

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has launched its Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) Data Collection System to support the International Maritime Organization during the formal review of the CII rating system, due to be completed by 1 January 2026.

CII is the rating system developed by the IMO to measure the energy efficiency of ships, above 5,000 gross tonnage and trading internationally, and came into effect on 1 January 2023. It is currently in an experience building phase, with a formal review running in parallel.

Following the IMO’s invitation during the Marine Environment Protection Meeting (MEPC80) in July, for interested Member States and international organisations to collect data and submit information and proposals, ICS has developed a system that enables shipowners and managers to submit data, including fuel consumption, transport work, and the trial metrics.

Such information will enable a clearer understanding of how fairly and effectively the CII system is functioning and provide the necessary input to the IMO for system improvement.

Chris Waddington, Technical Director of the International Chamber of Shipping and lead on the ICS CII Data Collection System commented: “At the

International Chamber of Shipping we wish to engage constructively to the current experience building phase of the CII review, to ensure that the system is fit-forpurpose and effective. The ICS Data Collection System offers shipowners and managers the opportunity to contribute data that will improve the rating system in the future.”

“We encourage shipowners to utilise the system in order to offer first-hand insights into what works well and possible challenges within the system. This data will be shared with the IMO and keep dialogues open for how best to meet our 2030, 2040 and 2050 net zero carbon emissions targets.”

In support to the IMO, the ICS invites shipowners and relevant stakeholders to utilise this opportunity and participate in order to contribute to a fair and successful CII rating system going forward.

Separately, ICS reports that its membership continues to grow with the Association of Panamanian Shipowners (ARPA) recently having become an associate member and The New Zealand Shipping Federation (NZSF), key representative body for New Zealand’s coastal operators, a full member; the China Shipowners’ Association (CSA) joined as a full member earlier in 2023.

ICS is the global trade association for shipowners which represents over 80% of the world merchant fleet. l

Guidelines issued on lithium-ion battery fire risk

With growing industry concern over the safety posed by onboard carriage of lithium-ion batteries - as highlighted in the cover story and Straight Talk column in our last issue (SM 104) – various bodies have reacted with advisories on how to minimise the fire risk and deal with any eventual incident.

Classification society ClassNK has released ‘Guidelines for the Safe Transportation of Electric Vehicles’ and ‘List of Fire Safety Measures for the Maritime Transportation of Electric Vehicles’ in support of enhancing the safety of maritime transportation of electric vehicles.

The number of EVs transported by vessels has increased in recent years. However, there are concerns regarding fires in their lithium-ion batteries due to difficulties in extinguishing and the risk of re-ignition. While the IMO and flag administrations are formulating safety regulations, shipping companies operating vehicle carriers are proactively addressing firefighting measures ahead of such regulatory implementation.

To assist these efforts, ClassNK has developed ‘Guidelines for the Safe Transportation of Electric Vehicles’, which describes the characteristics of EV fires and provides guidance on how to respond, built upon dialogue with experts, operators, manufacturers, and other stakeholders, as well as comprehensive literature review. The guidelines also set out requirements for class notations for vessels equipped with additional firefighting measures for transporting EVs.

Furthermore, ‘List of Fire Safety Measures for the Maritime Transportation of Electric Vehicles’ details approximately 40 measures for early detection, suppression, prevention of fire spread, and extinguishing. To offer the information for introducing fire safety measures newly and developing related technologies, it presents not only the effectiveness and benefits but also potential issues and points to be considered.

ClassNK says that both the guidelines and the list, available for download on its website, will be updated promptly in line with future its research findings and industry trends, and that it remains committed to contributing to the establishment and improvement of safety measures for the maritime transport of EVs.

Meanwhile, the International Group of P&I Clubs and Cargo Incident Notification System Network (CINS), together with other partners, have compiled ‘Lithium-ion Batteries in Containers Guidelines’ covering the properties of these batteries and their potential to explode, initiate fires and emit toxic gases.

The comprehensive publication sets out extensive measures to safely transport what is an exponentially increasing volume of lithium-ion batteries, in their various states or charge and when also contained in electronic devices are fully examined including, classification and regulation, container packing, landside storage, stowage onboard ships, incident detection and fire suppression, and loss prevention and risk mitigation.

“As our experience of transporting lithium-ion batteries widens and the technology surrounding their chemical composition, production and application rapidly evolves, risk controls and loss prevention measures need to keep pace,” states Mark Smith, Loss Prevention Executive NorthStandard, International Group of P&I Clubs’ representative on the CINS lithium-ion battery Working Group.

“We strongly urge all stakeholders in the production, supply, transport, handling and sale of lithium-ion batteries whether as individual components or integrated into an electronic device, vehicle or other product to recognise their responsibilities in maximising safety when in transit,” comments Dirk Van de Velde, who is Deputy Chair of CINS and a board member of the association of cargo handlers, ICHCA.

“Our Guidelines will create greater awareness of the possibilities of the damaging and life-threatening incidents, which have already occurred, and instil more urgent motivation to act before more catastrophic disasters result.” l

How I Work

SMI talks to industry leaders and asks the question How do you keep up with the rigours of the shipping industry?

AIan Trebinski

Group Director of HSSEQ, V.Group

s Group Director of HSSEQ (Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Quality), Ian Trebinski’s responsibilities include overseeing safety culture and safe working practices at V.Group, one of the industry’s largest shipmanagement and services groups. Comprising the V.Ships and V.Services divisions, the Group numbers some 52,000 people worldwide, of whom 3,000 are shore-based and the rest seafarers.

Ian has more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, having worked at sea for 10 years as a deck officer and then served as a nautical consultant for the UK Chamber of Shipping, before taking on senior HSSEQ roles ashore. This was predominantly for companies in the oil & gas industry, most recently Middle-East based Topaz. He joined V.Group two years ago when the company underwent a

reorganisation, merged its Shipmanagement and Crewing activities into the single V.Ships Division.

“The safety and wellbeing of our seafarers, together with taking care of our customers’ assets, has always been V.Group’s Number One priority,” he stresses. “If we aren’t keeping our people safe, getting them home on time and providing them with all the equipment and services that they need, we haven’t got a job. Safety is our ‘licence to operate’ in the 21st century.”

V. has an extensive HSSEQ leadership structure reporting to the Group Director, all abiding by a common ‘Excellence Charter’ where required key behaviours are aligned with the Leadership Values laid down by the ‘together in Safety’ initiative of which V. is an active partner.

Ian himself splits his time between the Group’s London HQ and its important shipmanagement offices, with teams of dedicated HSSEQ colleagues servicing each business cluster. Whenever his busy schedule allows, he also visits V.-managed ships calling ports in and around London and southeast England, in order to spend time with teams there and hear their concerns.

“The biggest challenge of the past two years has been the conflict in Europe that within hours took 20% of global seafarers off the market,” he says. “Within V. we had about 11,000 seafarers immediately affected, who we had to take care of as well as their families. So we had to find replacements within what is already a dwindling pool globally.

“It was the same with the pandemic,” he continues, “when a lot of people gave up careers at sea, which has had a huge, immediate and still-being-felt impact on the industry. We’ve lost years if not decades of experience within the last three-and-a-half years, that will take a long time to bounce back from.”

But he credits the “skill, scope and ability” of V.Group’s crewing network that has managed - either directly or through external agents - to tap into other alternative crew sources without any lasting impact on its business or that of its clients, at the same time keeping the “vast majority’ of its seafarers employed. It’s the ‘diligence of the V. teams that has shone though as a real ‘success story’ of this difficult period, he says.

Safety is our ‘licence to operate’ in the 21st century

Future challenges

Looking ahead, the HSSEQ Director see the EU Emissions Trading System regulations as one of the biggest immediate challenges, as well as other carbon/ emissions reduction issues. “It will be a huge task,” he says, “so it’s very important and valuable that V. has already built up a whole suite of services to help customers with carbon identification, tracking, reporting and accounting”, including a host of digital solutions that can be cascaded down the Group’s different activities.

V.Group also a strategic partner with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping in Copenhagen, where Matt Dunlop, Director of Sustainability and Decarbonisation, is seconded, helping what Ian calls “shaping and and driving standards for the industry”.

As HSSEQ Director, however, his concern is over the training of seafarers in the use of these alternative and future fuels. “It’s not good enough, full stop,” he says. “The shipping industry is constantly lagging. Right now we have vessels sailing around the world carrying dangerous lithium-ion batteries and Electric Vehicles, and

we’re proposing new future fuels with different hazard considerations, yet there is little proactivity nor sufficient focus on training and equipping our seafarers in a dedicated manner for what are fundamentally different and more hazardous forms of fire-fighting.”

V.Group is taking what initiatives it can on its account to ensure safety of its ships and seafarers. It has already developed a proprietary ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system called ShipSure, an integrated operations platform that manages real-time and historic ‘big data’ from each of V.’s 600-odd managed ships. Into this it has also already integrate an AI (Artificial Intelligence) platform called Sentinel, to predict and manage operational risk.

In addition, the Group has recently introduced a mobile Safety Observation App for seafarers to report suspected safety risks.

“It’s so that we can receive HSSEQ alerts within minutes,” says the Director responsible for such matters, mindful no doubt of his maxim that Safety remains the V.Group’s essential ‘licence to operate’. l

Dispatches LISW23 ‘surpasses all expectations’

The global maritime industry sailed full steam ahead into London in to attend the biennial London International Shipping Week 2023 (LISW23), 11-15 September, which the organisers described as ‘the most successful ever’ in the event’s 10-year history.

More than 70 countries were represented by the 30,000 delegates, while a large number of overseas trade delegations met with UK Government officials as London and the UK underlined their importance in the global supply chain.

As the week started, the UK Government outlined how coastal communities across the country are set to benefit from over £80 million of funding, also announcing the winners of the Zero Emission Vessel and Infrastructure fund (ZEVI). Later in the week the UK Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, unveiled a new package of clean maritime measures which aim to tackle greenhouse gas emissions in the UK’s transport sector while boosting economic growth.

Maritime UK utilised LISW23 to publish the second Annual Report into its Government-backed ‘Regional Cluster Development Programme’, speaking at the LISW23 Regional Showcase event, Maritime Minister Baroness Vere announced a £1million fund to support the work of dynamic and focused regional cluster organisations charged with the delivery of Maritime 2050 in their localities.

“London International Shipping Week is the perfect time to showcase the work we’re doing to generate

maritime jobs across the country and develop new, clean technologies,” said Mr Harper.

London’s expertise in shipping services was highlighted through the more than 350 events which took place during the packed LISW23 week. Maritime London, the professional services umbrella body for the UK, held a highly successful Shipping Risk Forum at Lloyd’s, as well as an invitation-only high-level international government and industry Round Table on ‘Green Corridors’, looking at the next steps needed from feasibility to implementation, which comprised a frank discussion under Chatham House Rules, with Baronness Vere in attendance.

Other iconic venues used during the week included No. 10 Downing Street, the UK Houses of Parliament, IMO headquarters, London Stock Exchange, Lloyd’s of London, and Tower Bridge. VIP receptions were hosted at Lancaster House, Mansion House, the Cyprus High Commission, and the residences of the Ambassadors of France and Belgium. A strong nautical flavour was also apparent in the number of ships that hosted events, including THV Galatea, HMS Belfast, Erasmus, Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke, the Golden Hinde, the historic Havengore (which bore Churchill’s coffin), and Artemis Technologies’ innovative electric workboat Pioneer of Belfast.

High level UK support was apparent throughout with some 16 Ministerial speeches delivered at LISW23. The UK Chamber of Shipping advised during the week that the value of shipping to the UK economy is 650,000 jobs, with every job in shipping supporting 10 more in the wider economy, and £1.1 trillion worth of trade.

Among the crucial issues discussed during LISW23 were decarbonisation and the protection of marine environments, innovation and technology, seafarer safety and well-being, equality and diversity, cyber security and AI, and numerous legal, insurance and trade matters in relation to global shipping and the supply chain.

International Shipowning and Shipmanagement Summit (ISSS)

The International Shipowning and Shipmanagement Summit (ISSS) organised by SMI proved a popular virtual event on the opening day – and can now be viewed in

its entirety on the SMI website. Discussions were centred around ‘The 4 Pillars of Successful Ship Operation’Compliance, Skills, Digitalisation and Markets.

Keynote speeches were delivered by Mark O’Neil, President of Columbia Group and InterManager; René Kofod-Olsen, CEO of V.Group; Olav Nortun, COO of OSM Thome; and John Trenchard, UK Supply Chain Director, DP World UK; while panel discussions centred around Digitalisation.

Skills was the topic that dominated one of the ISSS panel discussions with participants warning that the shipping industry cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to the recruitment, training and retention of seafarers, because of the fierce competition from other sectors when it comes to attracting the best talent. The importance of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity) in the workforce, as well as seamless onboard connectivity, was also stressed in order to keep pace with the times and attract the younger generation.

At the other panel, digitalisation was agreed to be crucial to the shipping industry’s future, with advances in connectivity bringing the shoreside and onboard activities ever closer together.

The ISSS ended with a ‘fireside chat’ with acclaimed economist and commentator Dr Martin Stopford - who subsequently appeared at several other events during the week, including one organised by Indian Register of Shipping and a frank exchange with ABS Chairman and CEO Chris Wiernicki at the Capital Link Forum.

“Green fuels are probably a step backwards for an industry going from heavy fuel oil,” opined Dr. Stopford, “and the next bit of bad news is they’re going to cost you $2,000 to $3,000 a ton. This changes the whole economics of the business. And the final bit of bad news is that you won’t be able to get any of these fuels anyway because there are so many heavyweights already in the queue. For example, we feed the world by ammonia, which increases the yields 4, 5 or 6 times and there is nothing else if you take that away.

“Innovation is about making things work that don’t work and we will find the only way you could bridge that enormous gap between running down the carbon the way the IMO wants us to is that you build or retrofit a lot of ships with carbon capture.”

Wiernicki replied: “Size, a strong balance sheet, great charter relationships and an understanding of the impact of technology on your commercial business is going to make all the difference in the world going forwards. You’re going to have to take an eagle eye look at energy efficiency and onboard carbon capture because you can’t build enough

Princess Royal in attendance at HMG event

Trinity House vessel Galatea a popular venue

Maritime Minister Baroness Vere

ships to magically change the global fleet. So, retrofits are going to be important.

“Owners will need to take advantage of layering of technologies. They are going to have to figure out what makes sense relative to the risk profile of the business. Commercial decisions in our industry are going to be more than just the historical reading of supply and demand. It’s going to be reading the technology to take a calculated risk with partners and charterers to move this forward.”

Thought Leadership conferences

An Inmarsat Connected Future Conference drilled further into future technologies and connectivity, looking at how the industry can move from talk to action on decarbonisation, a process for which satellite connectivity can provide “oxygen-sustaining opportunities”, in the words of Inmarsat Maritime’s President Ben Palmer. And guest speaker Helen Sharman CMG OBE, who became the UK’s first astronaut in 1991, wrapped up the afternoon with an inspiring speech about the importance of collaborative team efforts in space missions.

Further key topics were discussed at the LISW23 Headline Conference held at the IMO HQ, where more than 700 delegates registered to attend. During the event, retiring IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim was presented with a nautical barometer and wished ‘fair winds and following seas’.

Also present at the Conference were more than 40 media representing national, international and trade press. Media coverage figures indicate a potential worldwide

audience of more than a billion people, while the LISW23 official website handled more than 30 million hits.

Social media during the week was flooded with the hashtag #LISW23 as the maritime community shared its news and views. One popular remark was by immediate past Chairman of the Baltic Exchange Denis Petropolous, Chair of the LISW23 Board of Advisors, saying simply:

“London is where shipping and trade happens.”

LISW23 concluded with a glittering Gala Dinner (pictured) attended by 1500 people at Evolution London in Battersea Park. Hosting for the first time, this impressive location, together with the first-ever LISW After Party, proved popular with delegates, who were also able to return to London via a fleet of specially chartered Thames Clipper Uber Boats, kindly sponsored by ShipMoney. The Gala Dinner also raised much-needed funds for the four official LISW23 maritime charities.

Reviewing the highly successful week, Sean Moloney, cofounder of LISW said: “The strength of London International Shipping Week is bringing together industry leaders from across the globe to examine in detail the most crucial issues facing international shipping and world trade. This 2023 LISW, in our 10th anniversary year, surpassed all expectations.”

LISW co-founder Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes added: “What a week this was, and definitely the most international of the six LISWs that we’ve held so far. It was excellent to see so many industry decision makers networking at the myriad of events and amazing venues throughout the week. Roll on LISW25!” l

London is where shipping and trade happens

Denis Petropoulos

Astronaut Helen Sharman

LISW co-founders

Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes and Sean Moloney

Philippines’ training moves up

a rung

Delegates heading to this year’s CrewConnect event in Manila this November will encounter a far more relaxed atmosphere than 12 months ago. At that time the threat of an EU ban on Philippines seafarers still hung over the local industry due to deficiencies in the country’s education, training and certification processes identified by European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) audits dating as far back as 2006.

A cover story in this magazine one year ago (SMI 99) focused on that threat, canvassing industry opinions on the severity of the problem and likely developments. Consensus view was that a ban would be avoided since the Philippines was addressing the problems, and that while inevitably there were some bad schools in the country, the standards of Filipino seafarers generally are among the highest in the world, as suggested by their status as largest crewing nation.

To recap developments since, a delegation of leaders from international organisations representing seafarers, shipowners and other maritime employers met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his foreign policy tour in Brussels in December 2022. Top of their agenda was the

urgent concern that as many as 50,000 seafarers from the Philippines faced being barred from crewing EU-flagged vessels over qualification issues.

President Marcos informed the delegation that he had ordered creation of a new advisory board, to be made up of employers, shipowners and unions and the ILO, to give expert advice on major maritime issues and address the deficiencies. This ‘International Advisory Committee on Global Maritime Affairs’ (IACGMA) would draw on experts from both industry and the workforce to support the Philippines’ government, with IMEC (International Maritime Employers’ Council), ICS (International Chamber of Shipping), ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and the ILO (International Labour Organization) all invited to share their expertise.

The delegation was also reassured to hear President Marcos pledge that his administration would do its utmost to address the deficiencies identified by EMSA, also promising reform of the country’s seafarer claims industry where ‘ambulance-chasing’ lawyers target seafarers in order to defraud employers.

A month earlier, Jaime Jimenez Bautista, Secretary of the Department of Transportation of the Philippines, had informed last year’s CrewwConnect conference that the Maritime Industry Authority of the Philippines (MARINA) was “seriously addressing” failings in national seafarer training and certification identified by the latest EMSA audit and by the IMO’s Independent Evaluation for the STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) whitelist. He reported that “a barrage of corrective actions on various levels” was underway, with the support of relevant government agencies.

EU RATIFICATION

Then in March 2023, the EU concluded that the measures taken by the Philippines and its responses to the inquiry “demonstrated concrete progress and improvement,” in its programs to comply with the STCW Convention in the certification of seafarers, addressing deficiencies identified in the EMSA report. That recognition was said to be valid for 10 years, subject to reassessment and monitoring by EMSA, thereby removing any immediate threat of EU non-recognition of Filipino seafarers.

The EC decision was welcomed by international shipping bodies, across the globe. A joint statement by ECSA and ICS pointed out that Filipino seafarers play a central role in global shipping and in keeping trade moving.

“Filipino seafarers represent 14% of the global workforce in the sector and are instrumental in keeping global shipping running,” said the statement. “Industry partners remain committed to work with the industry, seafarers’ representatives and the Filipino authorities to build continuity and sustainability in the Filipino system,” to which end they had already started working together in January under the newly established IACGMA committee.

ICS Secretary General Guy Platten added that the decision was “a testament to the Philippines’ hard work to make sure seafarer training complies with regulations.”

Meanwhile, MARINA reported that it had already shut down 15 maritime training programmes due to non-

compliance with required standards and would be hiring more monitors to inspect the country’s many maritime schools. Starting in 2022, a 5-year moratorium on opening new maritime training programmes had also been introduced, it said.

Further evidence of the improving situation in the Philippines came with the news that in early October the country had submitted to a week-long audit under the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) to demonstrate that its various bodies were complying with standards set by the international organisation. “As a maritime nation with a proactive maritime administration, the Philippines is steadfast in its commitment to effectively implement and enforce all laws, regulations, and recommendations in accordance with the IMO instruments,” MARINA said in a statement.

‘AMBULANCE CHASING’

Questioned by SMI in mid-October on latest progress, ICS Director of Employment Affairs Helio Vicente reemphasised ICS’ commitment to “working with industry partners, seafarers’ representatives and the Filipino authorities to safeguard the sustainability of the training regime in the Philippines,” including through the IACGMA committee established at the request of President Marcos.

“More recently, the main focus of the IACGMA has been on addressing ‘Ambulance Chasing’, with several seafarers falling victim to predatory lawyers launching fraudulent claims on their behalf, seeking compensation for occupational injuries, disabilities, etc.,” he informed. “While employers remain and will continue to be fully committed to paying awards for genuine cases, where seafarers contract illness or injury while on duty, the labour dispute resolution system has so far been unable to enforce and restitute decisions handed down by the country’s highest courts (court of appeals and supreme court), reversing or modifying awards initially handed down by the Arbitration tribunals.

Above and opposite: photos of seafarers and CAMSAT trainees, courtesy PTC Group

“This is possibly the single biggest challenge the industry is facing in the Philippines,” he continued, “with over USD$ 47 million in quantifiable losses due back to employers as of September 2022. The true extent of the losses by employers could be as much as 5 or 10 times more than that in reality.

“The industry has been calling for a legal framework to protect both employers and seafarers from these unscrupulous actions, which are driving jobs away from the country”, he claimed, with Filipinos accounting for only 14% of the global seafaring workforce in 2021 compared to 45% in 1995.

“The industry is therefore advocating for inclusion of a ‘protected deposit’ provision into the Philippines ‘Magna Carta’ for Seafarers, which is a national legal framework intended to formally reaffirm the Philippines’ commitment to the ILO Maritime Labour Convention. In May, the House of Representatives approved the ‘Magna Carta’ with such a provision, meaning that compensation awarded in a labour dispute would be released once all legal remedies up to the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court were exhausted. However, this is facing strong opposition in the Senate, where discussions are still ongoing,” he concluded, reiterating ICS’ determinate to work with industry partners to find an equitable solution to the problem.

PHILIPPINES PERSPECTIVE

The final words belong to Gerardo A. Borromeo (pictured right), CEO of the Philippine Transmarine Carriers (PTC) Group, VP for External Affairs of the FSA, and ICS Vice Chair. He tells SMI:

“Following a 17-year period of uncertainty with the European Commission, the Directorate General for Mobility

Crewing specialist’s view

Dand Transport (DG MOVE), last March 31, 2023, concluded that the Philippines had sufficiently addressed its past concerns, resulting in a 10-year extension of recognition for Philippine issued seafarer certificates. That said, much work remains.

“DG MOVE signalled the start of a strong and strategic partnership with the Philippines providing a technical assistance grant of EUR 4 million - expected to run from 2025 to 2027. This program will ensure the country will sustain and expand its gains in maritime education, training, and certification. DG MOVE’s efforts provide a boost of confidence for the long term.

“During the ICS-organised Seafarer 2050 Summit in Manila last June, President Marcos signalled his total support for the continued development of the Philippine maritime agenda, emphasizing the country’s commitment to the international maritime industry. To prepare for the anticipated broader maritime green transition, he highlighted the need for critical collaboration between MARINA, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the shipping industry to ensure the right skilling of Filipino maritime professionals.

“Despite the challenges and complexities out there, I remain optimistic. As needed, we just have to make the necessary and timely course corrections on the voyage plan.” l

anica Crewing Services traditionally specialises in supplying manpower from East Europe to the shipping industry but has sourced some from the Philippines as well, via a local manning agent. This summer it opened its own office in Manila, adding to its others in Germany, Ukraine, the Baltics and India, in order to further diversify recruitment and grow its current roster of around 150 Filipino seafarers.

“I think there were a number of substandard schools and courses, which was what alerted EMSA,” says CEO Henrik Jensen, as well as some doubtful ‘walk-in’ examinations. “It’s of course good that the general level of education and training is being lifted, so that there’s a larger pool of crew that are competent to recruit from.

“But for high-quality shipowners and managers it was never really a problem,” he adds, “because seafarers educated in these substandard courses couldn’t in any event pass their screening processes.”

Danica, for example, only uses training centres that it audits itself, he says, and screens applicants in the Philippines using the same standards as it applies in its other offices worldwide. l

Respecting seafarers’ rights in a changing world

An exclusive SMI interview with Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI)

As the shipping industry focused its attention on World Maritime Day in September the date held special significance for Deirdre Fitzpatrick, as it marked the founding of Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) in 2010. Ms Fitzpatrick serves as Executive Director of this global organisation, which carries out research into all aspects of the legal framework surrounding those who work at sea and those who operate vessels.

But has there been more respect for seafarers’ rights since the launch of SRI? When we see stories of respected Masters and crews being prosecuted or ships and their crews detained until payment of fines, have the authorities really made progress in this area? Or are seafarers - and shipowners – still being used as pawns in a money game?

To set the scene SMI first asked Ms Fitzpatrick about the work of the centre. She is very clear that SRI is not a campaigning organisation - so how does it help the industry?

“SRI is a research centre working closely with the shipping industry, world governments, UN agencies and others, and providing them with the facts they need to make informed and evidence-based decisions,” she explains. “Our aim is to support the industry in achieving an efficient and fair maritime industry – and of course the decent employment of seafarers.”

The law as it applies to seafarers and ship operators is extremely

complicated and many involved in the industry would admit to struggling with its complexities. Deirdre frequently cites this quote from the Independent, when the Sea Empress was spilling oil into the sea off Milford Haven in the UK in 1996:

“Built in Spain, owned by a Norwegian, registered in Cyprus, managed from Glasgow, chartered by the French, crewed by Russian, flying a Liberian flag, carrying an American cargo and pouring oil on to the Welsh coast. But who takes the blame?”

In fact, today, it is very often the crew, she says. “An investigation under the Casualty Investigation Code is mandatory following major incidents, and additional inquiries including criminal investigations are often triggered by the authorities, leading already traumatised seafarers to find themselves behind bars and unwittingly facing what is often an opaque justice system in an unknown country.”

She is currently working on new research to be presented to the IMO Legal Committee next year, supporting the work of the Joint IMO-ILO Working Group.

This partnership seeks to address fair treatment concerns for seafarers detained on suspicion of maritime crimes, paving the way for the development of tangible proposals to protect their rights and well-being.

In 2010 the work of seafarers was far less visible than it is today. “Our presence has helped to generate

much greater interest in the subject of seafarers’ rights and has contributed new resources to those representing and employing seafarers,” says Deirdre. “Over the past decade or so, there have been many new entrants and it is great now to see so many other stakeholders and role players working in this field.”

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) has played a major role in improving working conditions in the industry since the inception of SRI. It came into force in 2013 and is now being actively implemented and enforced around the world. It promises seafarers decent working conditions and creates conditions of fair competition for shipowners, she explains. However, the key lies in its effective execution.

Take the pandemic, for example, says Ms Fitzpatrick. “Covid laid bare how the interests and needs of the maritime industry fall across and between various government departments in any state, often to the detriment of the seafarer and the shipowner. We saw the crew change crisis, with seafarers stuck at sea for more than a year at a time while family and friends were suffering at home. Some world governments were reluctant to engage with the maritime industry, and even when the Covid situation eased, seafarers faced a vaccination lottery.”

This really was a wake-up call for us all, she continues, as seafarers continued to move goods around the world but at the same time were denied some of their basic human rights. “The ILO Committee of Experts asserted that during Covid the MLC was widely disregarded around the world, a statement that responsible shipowners and their crews would find difficult to contradict,” she says. Deirdre believes that the role of the seafarer has been strengthened as a result of Covid. “Seafarers gained greater visibility through their work and the world at large came to a greater appreciation of the role that they play. We also saw new levels of cooperation within our industry, with the International Transport Federation (ITF) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) working together to drive forward guidelines and provide support to both ship operators and crews.

“Seafarers today have a much higher profile at the IMO and post Covid we are seeing a greater focus on addressing the challenges of implementing and enforcing these laws,” she says. “At the IMO, standards of implementation are being improved through the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS)

which did not exist when SRI began. The ILO has a unique supervisory system to ensure that MLC is properly implemented and achieves decent work for seafarers and a level playing field for shipowners.” New technology also provides seafarers with great opportunities as well as challenges. “The pace of change in the industry - with a focus on decarbonisation, greater automation and an understanding of ESG - is such that properly qualified seafarers will always be valued,” she says.

Despite the work of SRI and other bodies, many of the difficulties that seafarers have historically faced are still present in the industry today, in particular criminalisation, scapegoating, unpaid wages and abandonment.

“We still need changes in laws and regulations to better protect seafarers and support the maritime industry,” she says. “But this cannot occur in isolation and must be accompanied by increased attention and resources from all stakeholders, recognising the global nature of the shipping industry and that seafarers need special protection”.

So – are seafarers better off today than they were when SRI was established?

Deirdre replies in the affirmative: “In our work, many seafarers tell us that they feel their profession is more valued. Whilst the whole industry must work together to ensure that all seafarers are treated decently, we are very pleased that SRI has been able to play a visible role in the progression of seafarers’ rights since 2010 - in particular through our work with IMO and ILO and at national level with governments. The industry is changing much faster than ever before, and we look forward to the contribution that we can make in the decade to come.” l

With government officials at endorsement of first Manila Statement on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers

Vessel Operations

Pooling helps VLCC owners translate data into profits

By Matt Smith, COO of Tankers International

Imagine you are in Lloyd’s 17th-century coffee house. The noise and intensity stems from customers trying to get ahead of their competition by procuring accurate and up-to-date news, information, and maritime auctions that provide its patrons with timely intelligence to make smarter choices. What are they on the hunt for? Data. Thankfully, a lot has changed since the 17th century, but it’s still a dog-eat-dog world. VLCC owners and operators can appreciate how macroeconomic trends, decarbonisation and digitalisation are putting pressure on those with a weak cash flow and no reserves.

Squeezing revenue out of fleets is crucial for VLCC owners and operators to succeed today. But this is not achieved by simply riding the waves and hoping for the stars to align. A VLCC’s biggest money-maker is, therefore, not just its crude oil cargo, but its data.

Every cent shaved off transport costs contributes to profitability. So, VLCC owners and operators succeed by careful management of asset appreciation, reducing backhauls and minimising time off-hire rather than speculation. However, running a successful shipping operation is not just a matter of costs – the effective use of data can transform a vessel’s financial performance.

For example, if you know the rate that a VLCC was fixed at some point this week, you have some insight into market movements. But if you know what a VLCC was fixed at on the same route that you are contracting for 5 minutes ago, you have a superior level of insight.

In fact, when you can cross-check vessel and contract specifications against your own, you can understand the exact market value of one ship on one route when making a deal. Coupling this data with detailed cargo forecasts can allow decision-makers to plan effectively, whether making strategic decisions on asset plays or dry dock dates, to commercial decisions by charterers and cargo owners – something we at Tankers International have been doing since 2000.

Yet, shipping faces numerous barriers and obstacles when trying to harness data. One of the biggest obstacles is information overload, as the growing volume of data is increasingly challenging for teams to update and analyse. Having thousands of data points available also becomes irrelevant if they cannot be interpreted to extract the key pieces of information that individual organisations need.

We therefore need to define the problem to avoid capturing data for the sake of it and become more efficient from day one, before sharing it with analysts experienced in extracting valuable and relevant insights.

One of the benefits of operating within a collaborative pool environment is that the volume and scale of insights and trends can be shared as collective knowledge. By leveraging this precious commodity, we can deliver competitive financial results and truly translate data into profits. l

Harbor Lab founder and CEO Antonis Malaxianakis explains why embracing digitalisation empowers ship agents

Having been part of Greek shipping companies’ disbursements teams before launching Harbor Lab, Antonis Malaxianakis, Founder & CEO of Harbor Lab, gained valuable insights into the demanding life of ship agents. Responsibilities range from boarding ships in the middle of night, to liaising with masters and crew, handling paperwork and payments for port calls, and communicating with the principal situated in a different part of the world and in a different time-zone.

In the dynamic world of ship agencies competition is high. Larger international agencies may have a steady stream of ship calls, while many agents opt for autonomy by running solo or smaller businesses. These independent agents face the difficulty of standing out amid the more prominent international players. Although there has been a surge in technology aimed at enhancing vessel performance and processes for owners, “disbursements accounting administration and port call management for port agents have not received the same attention”.

“This is where Harbor Lab steps in,” explains Malaxianakis. “With our cloud-based software not only are agents and principals are brought together, but the transparency it brings also creates equal opportunities and a level playing field for them to compete on the same terms and gain more business.”

Harbor Lab developed a platform, where all agents registered into the system get access to the same opportunities, irrespective of the size or service coverage of the company. The transparency and digitalization of port call administration can offer these smaller players the opportunity to shine and thrive alongside the big global agencies.

There are currently 4000 agents and vendors registered in Harbor Lab’s integrated Agency Directory, all of whom are exposed to the same charterers, ship owners and operators. With over 1000 registered vessels from numerous companies using Harbor Lab’s Disbursement Accounts tool to handle their port calls, the platform presents opportunities for small or solo ship agents, to showcase their services, alongside the companies with wider reach.

“Beyond these business opportunities, the platform brings new levels of trust and transparency within the maritime ecosystem,” asserts Malaxianakis. Agents and vendors registered in Harbor Lab’s software, undergo a thorough ‘know- your-customer’ due diligence process to meet the “highest standards of quality and reliability

which makes them stand out to principals that consider these standards a top requirement to conduct business.”

The software gives the opportunity to all agents to quote for and win more business. It enables direct discussion and negotiation through the system, cutting out any intermediary party-associated fees. “This hands-on approach empowers Principals to select the company they wish to work with directly, based on qualitative and quantitative criteria eliminating reliance on intermediaries who may appoint their own local agent”, he said.

Furthermore, automation plays a significant role in the digitalised processes. The software can auto-fill the DA with the relevant port expenses if the agent desires, populating fields with fees charged by the agent previously, for the same vessel calling the same port. Alternatively, Harbor Lab’s verified, live port tariff data is used to auto-populate the port expenses in a DA.

“Harbor Lab optimizes daily operations for Agents, streamlines tasks, reduces administration, simplifies port expenses management, increases visibility and considerably improves efficiency and productivity, while also reducing the likelihood of errors caused by manual data entry”, adds Malaxianakis.

With digitalised processes and data-led decisionmaking gaining momentum in the shipping industry, port call coordination need not be left behind. “By embracing technological advancements, port agents can fortify their crucial role in ensuring smooth port calls, gaining recognition for their invaluable contributions to the industry’s success. As the maritime world continues to evolve, Harbor Lab’s software empowers not only the big players but smaller ship agents as well to thrive and compete on a level playing field, bringing new dimensions of efficiency and transparency to the port-side arena,”

Malaxianakis concludes.l

EU ETS - who is liable for submissions: ship owners or managers?

The following is an edited version of an article by Dr Clemens Hillmer, WFW Partner, Hamburg

Ahotly debated topic regarding the extension of the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) to include maritime emissions, is who should be responsible for submitting emissions allowances on the relevant submission date to the relevant administering authority, in particular in instances where a shipowner has delegated the responsibility to comply with the ISM Code to a manager. In such cases, should a shipowner and its manager decide in their bilateral management agreement which of them is responsible for ETS obligations (‘Option 1’)? Or should the manager always be responsible for those obligations provided the shipowner has delegated responsibility to comply with the ISM Code to them (‘Option 2’)?

This question is of particular importance for ship managers who manage ships which are not owned by the manager’s group, as the assumption of ETS obligations vis-à-vis the administering authority is associated with high risks. Depending on the trade and emissions of a ship, the costs will likely amount to an average of €500,000 pa – and could be even higher.

If a manager’s responsibility falls under Option 2, it is responsible for submitting the allowances to the administering authority on the submission date. A manager will want to arrange in the management agreement with the shipowner that the latter must provide the manager with sufficient allowances so that it can fulfil its ETS obligations. In the case, for example, of a time charter, the shipowner will try to agree with the time charterer that it must either procure the allowances for the ship it has chartered or reimburse the shipowner for the procurement costs.

However, if the shipowner does not transfer the allowances to the manager, or if it becomes insolvent and the allowances fall into insolvency estate, the manager is left

empty-handed while remaining responsible for compliance with ETS obligations.

The Commission is obliged to adopt a final regulation in the fourth quarter of 2023, specifying Option 1 or 2, before the EU ETS for shipping enters into force on 1 January 2024. If under Option 1 the manager is responsible for complying with the ETS obligations, it must provide the administering authority with a document clearly indicating that it has been duly mandated by the shipowner to comply with ETS obligations together with the usual contact details. Where no document has been provided to the administering authority, the shipowner will be considered the entity responsible for ETS obligations.

If a manager is not responsible for ETS obligations, this should be explicitly stated in the management agreement. If a shipowner wishes to entrust a manager with responsibility for ETS obligations this must also regulated in detail in the management agreement. The manager will want to ensure that it receives the allowances regularly from the shipowner (who should in turn receive them, in case of a time charter, from the time charterer) so that it can submit the allowances to the administering authority on the submission date. If the shipowner does not want to provide the manager with the allowances before the submission date (i.e. because the shipowner does not want to bear the insolvency risk of the manager), the parties will have to consider appointing a trustee to hold the allowances in trust for them both.

The Commission must adopt a final regulation in the fourth quarter of 2023, before the EU ETS for shipping enters into force on 1 January 2024. Even though many issues remain undecided, shipowners and managers in particular must now begin to work on adapting charter parties, management agreements and other documentation to confirm with what the final regulations will likely entail. l

Crew Travel

From door to deck, crew travel is changing

Seafarer wellbeing, market intelligence, and more focus on the pre-trip, on-trip and post-trip stages of a journey are driving the transformation of crew travel into a broader crew change logistics service, explains Nikos Gazelidis, Chief Commercial Officer at ATPI Marine Travel.

The extent to which one would agree with the statement that the most important aspect of crew travel is the cost of an air ticket depends on your perspective. Whoever is picking up the bill is likely to concur, but the seafarer heading out to the other side of the planet for a four to six-month rotation may prefer that no expense is spared for their commute. The cost of air tickets certainly has a visible impact on the bottom line, though the right data can deliver significant savings in this area, as demonstrated in a recent study conducted for a provider of specialist crew & staff to the cruise sector.

The study looked at the regular application of intelligence based on the cost of flights to and from different port cities, with advice provided through simplified Red/ Green Port metrics. The data and its insight are developed within the ATPI organisation and communicated in biannual reviews with the client, where corrective actions on alternative

ports/crew change locations for the following period are recommended.

The purpose of the study was to identify possible savings from the recommendation of different crew change locations to those originally planned by the customer, and in many cases, already booked & ticketed.

70% of total crew travel was included and it was possible to identify alternative crew change locations for 15% of the already planned crew changes between Sep-Dec 2023, generating a saving of EUR 0.5M.

The pandemic left cruise companies with debt and liquidity burdens, so the study was carried out to help reduce OPEX, but the same Red/Green port data provides tangible savings on crew travel across all marine sectors.

Crew change logistics

While these and other tailored initiatives support cost reduction programs for cruise lines and the transport sector, the industry’s requirements are changing with the

growing demand to increase the amount of touchpoints with crew managers so they and their teams can operate more efficiently, while unlocking the ability to focus on the wellbeing of seafarers during transit.

Employers have a legal and moral obligation to execute their duty of care for employees when getting to and from work. Keeping seafarers happy and more comfortable ensures that they are ready for work when they arrive, and that they want to come back. Retaining good crew members reduces the overall cost of recruitment and training too. From a crew manager’s perspective, support to optimise processes and manage unforeseen challenges is also vital.

Addressing these concerns has led to a strategic realignment and a dynamic shift in operational approach at ATPI; from providing crew travel management services to becoming a crew change logistics partner with a new end-to-end hybrid servicing solution that

seamlessly integrates technological advancements and soft Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) solutions throughout the crew change cycle. This new approach emphasises the Pre-Trip, On-Trip, and Post-Trip stages via new services aimed at different stakeholders and areas of operation.

EXPANDING THE REMIT

It’s important to acknowledge that the journey from a seafarer’s home to the ship and back is a critical aspect of their work-life. One way to improve things is to enhance connections and make the travel experience more employee-centric during layovers and transfers. This could include facilitating access to airport lounges and offering different travel route options, which contributes to the wellbeing of crew and helps to retain them in the long run.

Tools for cost management are still important of course, so the use of data to assess port conditions pre-trip and real-time monitoring of air travel status on-trip can pay dividends. Post-trip, the focus ideally shifts to providing access to crew travel information as this can aid in precise

planning and budgeting. This data could also be used to identify trends and offer advice for strategic budget adjustments and cost reductions while maintaining efficiency in the crew change workflow.

Delays and last-minute changes can also cause considerable problems for crew managers and crew, but with real-time monitoring and support, its possible to get ahead of such issues and schedule new travel arrangements before they become critical in cost or employee wellbeing.

Further, crew changes have a negative environmental impact but demand for support in this area is growing. The ability to assess the carbon cost of individual crew trips and then offset them using certified carbon credit projects will become essential to help ship owners and operators manage their carbon footprint responsibly in line with evolving carbon reduction targets.

Visibility, grip & control

While it’s perfectly sound business to focus on the cost of air tickets, addressing all aspects of crew change logistics will become more important as crew welfare demands grow in line with choice in the market for

new jobs. Even when a ship has great broadband connectivity for crew, pays above the going rate and offers comfortable conditions on board, seafarers will always get what appears to be a better offer. So, employers that go the extra mile to support them might stand a better chance of retaining them.

For crew managers, the new widening of the crew change logistics remit can meet their need to optimise workflows and processes that have a direct operational impact, so any additional data, intelligence, and insight or support helps them and their teams to perform better.

Providing visibility of travel analytics is the starting point, followed by giving them a grip on the situation by ensuring they have a complete overview of pre, on, and post trip activities and information. This all leads to control over travel expenses and the wellbeing of employees. Detailed insights into travel patterns, expenses and cost reduction opportunities empower organisations to optimise their budget, and treat their seafarers well to support their job and employer satisfaction. l

Undergoing a makeover

By Felicity Landon

It’s almost as if the UK ports sector is reinventing itself: the focus is on Freeports, digitalisation and new tech, and decarbonisation. Ports are collaborating and innovating on a massive scale.

Eight new English Freeports were first announced in 2021; two Freeports have since been announced in Wales, and two Green Freeports in Scotland. As well as offering cashflow, tax and Customs benefits, together with simplified planning rules, the Freeports (which encompass a much wider area than just one port) have been set up to incentivise innovation and investment, particularly around green energy and low carbon projects.

For example, Freeport East, centred around Felixstowe and Harwich, includes Gateway 14, which is 26 miles inland from Felixstowe and being developed as the largest logistics and business park in East Anglia. At the same time, Freeport East is focusing on green energy, with half the UK’s offshore wind capacity on the doorstep and considerably more to be developed, and plans for a hydrogen hub.

The Freeports have been trumpeted as a Brexit benefit – a claim that’s difficult to verify, given that the UK has had them in the past. What’s certain is that their creation is jump-starting a host of investments and developments.

A ‘Brexit dividend’ that the sector has particularly welcomed is the forthcoming removal of the rules imposed under the EU’s Port Services Regulation.

The legislation on port services provision will be revoked in the UK by the end of the year, a move that will help maintain the competitiveness of British ports and help keep a flexible and open system for port users, said the British Ports Association.

The PSR created an inflexible system with additional costs for ports and shippers, said CEO Richard Ballantyne. “Despite many of the Customs and borders challenges the UK ports sector has faced since the UK’s departure from

the EU, this is one development that can be viewed as a genuine Brexit dividend.”

There is anger at the government’s continued delay in introducing new post-Brexit border controls, for which key ports invested hundreds of millions of pounds in new inspection facilities. As the BPA noted, much of the collective investment and effort to develop the network of new Border Control Posts is likely to be wasted due to the government’s subsequent watering down of requirements and these ‘white elephant’ structures will require ongoing upkeep. “The ports industry will always champion the removal of trade barriers, but Ministers have marched most of the industry up a very expensive hill and if the costs for new border posts will not be recoverable from users, government should cover the expense and release the land and facilities back for more productive use,” said Ballantyne.

Whether within or outside Freeport lines, ports in the UK continue to invest in green initiatives. The Port of Tyne in northeast England has secured a £100m refinancing package building on its strategic focus on green energy and smart logistics. Amongst its green projects, the port hosts the O&M base for Dogger Bank, the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

In the far south-east, Dover is teaming up with Calais and Dunkirk to deliver the UK’s first green shipping corridor, as part of the UK’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. One of the project’s technical partners is shore power and energy conversion specialist Schneider Electric, which is advising the Port of Dover on shore power capabilities and infrastructure. Schneider’s marketing manager, Peter Selway, said: “Port operators are facing pressure to transition to more sustainable business models that meet with the Net Zero ambitions of the UK’s Clean Maritime Plan. UK ports are also becoming energy producers, providing the shore power needed to charge electric and hybrid vessels.” l

Schneider Electric to advise on UK’s first green corridor

Shore power and energy conversion specialist

Schneider Electric announces that it is a technical partner in an eight-month consultancy project to design and deliver the UK’s first green shipping corridor between the Ports of Dover, Calais and Dunkirk (agreement signing pictured) as part of the UK’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC).

As a key technical partner in the consultancy project, Schneider Electric will assess green energy pathway options for marine and land vessels and vehicles to facilitate the zeroemission movement of goods and people between the ports. In addition, Schneider Electric will conduct a land side port and fuel analysis and an assessment of shore power - or ‘cold ironing’capabilities to provide electrical power to berthed vessels.

Schneider Electric will also build a ‘digital twin’ – a scalable digital model of the Port of Dover’s electrical infrastructure – that will enable the port’s new shore power systems to be designed and tested virtually before being built and integrated into the port’s existing facilities, ensuring minimal service disruption. It will support the future power requirements of one of Europe’s busiest ports, which handles around £144bn worth of trade in goods.

Peter Selway, Segment Marketing Manager at Schneider Electric, said: “Port operators are facing pressure to transition to more sustainable business models that meet with the net-zero ambitions of the Clean Maritime Plan. UK ports are also becoming energy producers, providing the shore power needed to charge electric and hybrid vessels. By partnering in this consultancy project, we’re able to advise the Port of Dover on how to strategically invest in the shore power capabilities and infrastructure needed to support a green shipping corridor.

“The port is a vital link between the UK and Europe, accounting for more than a third of trade and most of the UK’s ferry traffic. Decarbonising this critical shipping channel will reduce maritime greenhouse gas emissions and provide a blueprint for other ports to follow. With over 90 years of experience, Schneider Electric is well placed to support Dover’s journey towards more sustainable and low carbon solutions.”

Megan Turner, Environment and Sustainability Manager at the Port of Dover, said: “Some ferries operating from the port are being upgraded to run on electric batteries and other forms of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions. This represents a huge transition for us as we evaluate our current and future power needs.

“Working with Schneider Electric, we will be able to determine what type of electrical infrastructure we will need going forward to generate the energy required to power ships and the port itself. The consultation will help us open the green corridor and crucially allow us to understand better how to leverage shore power and manage energy supplies effectively. It also aligns with our ambition to become a sustainable port and be carbon net-zero by 2025.”

Schneider Electric has already assisted the Port of Dover with Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition phase 1 to support the technological development necessary to reduce carbon emissions as part of the Port of Dover Air Quality Action Plan. In addition, Schneider Electric has played an active role in major shoreside installations, including the UK’s first large commercial ship-to-shore connection for the MV Hamnavoe ferry in Orkney, lowering fuel consumption through the provision of low-carbon electrical power. l

‘Time for UK ports to invest in shore power’

Peter Selway, Port Solutions Lead, UK and Ireland at Schneider Electric – which has experience of shore power installations at some 150 ports worldwide - discusses how UK ports can develop the clean energy infrastructure needed to support hybrid and electric vessels.

Q) What are your thoughts on the UK Government’s incentives to help ports decarbonise the UK’s maritime sector and what can they help the industry to achieve?

It’s a positive step and we will see projects emerge that help UK ports and operators to decarbonise, paving the way for new shore power facilities. But this is a gradual process. In the first instance, ports need the capabilities to provide shore power connections to the existing fleet, and over time hybrid diesel vessels, electric powered vessels, and eventually ships that run on lower carbon fuels like ammonia and green hydrogen.

The conversion will span decades as ports adapt to cater for the changing power requirements of ferries, cargo ships and other vessels. They are about to experience some of the biggest changes in their long histories, as they transition from being essentially a car park for ships, to being energy providers.

Q) New electrically powered ships are being introduced by ferry operators like P&O Ferries, how will this alter the landscape?

The evolution of ships is the same as cars. Hybrid cars are giving way to electrically powered vehicles. But like electric cars, battery powered vessels have a limited range, they’re ideal for short crossings which is why they’re being adopted by ferry operators. Over time we’ll see more of these vessels as ports build out their shore power capabilities, like the EV charging stations we’re seeing on our roads, cities and towns.

The Port of Dover’s Clean Ferry Power Project has already set out plans to develop shoreside power installations to support low and zero-emission vessels. The scheme is in line with the government’s Clean Maritime Plan to establish the UK as a global leader in clean shipping by 2050.

Q) What’s next, how will ports support this transition?

The challenge will be to build a sustainable infrastructure with its own energy reserves. Otherwise, ports will be subject to fluctuating energy prices. They can have a private wire or fixed term agreement with their energy provider, but it would be preferable to have sources of renewable energy onsite, like solar for example, or in close proximity, like wind turbines. This will give them more control over prices and energy consumption.

Everything will be decided on a case-by-case basis, factoring in planning, viability, costs, location and other variables. Eventually, ports should be in a position where they can draw on power from a variety of sources, using micro grids to manage distribution to support peak and off-peak usage. All managed by software and automation to regulate energy, storage and capacity.

Q) What about the latest £160m Government investment to help port prepare for Floating Offshore Wind projects?

This presents UK ports with a great opportunity to start addressing their power requirements and modernising their infrastructure, especially to provide shore power connections to ships. The wind farm projects can help to accelerate the rollout of new shoreside facilities to charge OSVs and other vessels.

Shore power is set to become even more critical over the next decade or so, as fleets upgrade to hybrid and even electric vessels. Ports can look at what’s needed today and start planning for the future. They can also conduct feasibility studies into onsite renewables, to begin producing their own energy, supported by microgrids and smart technologies. It’s a big shift but it will pay off in the years to come. l

Peterhead reinvents itself

The Port of Peterhead, in north-east Scotland, was always known for its fish: it remains the UK’s biggest fishing port and market, and volumes are at record highs. For the past 50 years, the port has had a vital ‘second string’ to its bow – emerging as a leading offshore support hub for the North Sea oil & gas industry.

Now, with the North Sea oil & gas sector already showing signs of decline, Peterhead is seeking to reinvent itself again, pursuing the opportunities of the energy transition.

Earlier this year, more than 200 people attended ‘Peterhead Port: Embracing the Energy Transition Opportunity’, where presentations and discussions focused on oil & gas decommissioning, offshore wind and renewables, carbon capture and storage, green hydrogen, and skills and employability.

The result has been a re-energising of the Peterhead Energy Transition Forum and renewed optimism throughout the supply chain. There had been great disappointment when the North East Scotland Green Freeport proposals were not successful – Peterhead was part of the consortium behind the bid, with ambitions for innovation, investment and job creation around Net Zero, regeneration, innovation, food and drink exports, and playing a leading role in the global energy transition.

Despite the disappointment, the bid brought many organisations closer together and helped to identify the opportunities and the strengths of the region, according to Peterhead Port Authority.

Since then, there has been positive news; the UK government granted North East Scotland Investment Zone status, backed by an investment package worth £80m over five years, and more recently finally gave the go-ahead for the Acorn carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) project and wider Scottish Cluster.

“We’re delighted that, finally, after many false dawns and a significant time delay, the Acorn project and the wider Scottish Cluster will now be able to get to work and help the country reach Net Zero,” said Peterhead Port Authority CFO Stephen Paterson.

“This is the opportunity for the north-east of Scotland –including the critical facilities at Peterhead Port – to lead the world in this new and innovative technology. Others have been catching up fast, but we have the skills, expertise and ingenuity to lead the field globally.”

Based at St Fergus, the Acorn scheme will receive CO2 by land, pipeline or sea, including from the industrial heartlands around Scotland’s Central Belt, from elsewhere around the UK and from further afield. Peterhead’s part in the project would be handling shipments of CO2 at the port’s former oil jetty.

From St Fergus, the CO2 will be pumped into depleted reservoirs 1.5 miles under the North Sea, making use of redundant oil & gas pipelines and equipment. The scheme also includes proposals for local production of hydrogen.

Peterhead is also preparing for an offshore wind farm construction boom, in particular related to the latest round of INTOG (Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas) offshore wind leases. The port has experience – Peterhead provided support and services for the construction of the Hywind, the world’s first floating wind farm, and continues to provide port and associated services for this project’s crew transfer vessel.

In the pursuit of energy transition opportunities, Peterhead has the advantages of transferable skills and facilities, from traditional oil & gas activities to renewables and other ‘energy transition’ activities including decommissioning.

Royal HaskoningDHV has carried out a study into how Peterhead can be adapted and scaled up as a multi-sector port. As Paterson said: “The whole landscape and horizon has changed for us.” l

Strategies for risk prevention on ships and maritime assets

By Harilaos Petrakakos, Director & Senior Surveyor of P&P Marine Consultants Inc. and Member of Marasco Marine Ltd. Advisors’ Board

Ships play a crucial role in global trade, transportation, and exploration. However, their operations are inherently exposed to various risks, ranging from maritime accidents to piracy, war and environmental hazards. Implementing effective risk prevention strategies is essential to ensure the safety of hull & machinery, crew, cargo, and the marine environment. This article will discuss key risk prevention strategies that can be employed on ships to minimize potential hazards and ensure safe and smooth sailing.

Competency and Crew Training: The foundation of any risk prevention strategy begins with a well-trained and competent crew. Proper training ensures that seafarers possess the necessary knowledge and skills to handle emergencies effectively. Regular drills, exercises, and simulations help them respond promptly to potential risks, such as fires, collisions, machinery and cargo handling equipment damages, or man-overboard situations. Continuous education and certification updates also keep

the crew up-to-date with the latest safety regulations and best practices.

International Regulations and Compliance: Adherence to international maritime regulations, such as the IMO’s conventions and guidelines, is vital for risk prevention. Compliance ensures that ships are equipped with necessary safety equipment, maintain proper operational standards, and follow safety protocols. Compliance also extends to environmental regulations to minimize the impact of ship operations on marine ecosystems.

Risk Assessment and Management: Conducting thorough risk assessments is essential to identify potential hazards and vulnerabilities on ships. This involves analyzing the ship's design, her hull & machinery condition, operational procedures, cargo handling, and navigational routes. With this information, ship operators can develop comprehensive risk management plans that include preventive measures, contingency plans, and response protocols for various scenarios.

Use of Advanced Navigational Aids: Equipping ships with modern navigational aids enhances their ability to navigate safely through challenging waters. Global Positioning Systems (GPS), radar systems, Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), and Automatic Identification System (AIS) improve situational awareness, thereby reducing the risk of collisions and groundings.

Safety Equipment and Maintenance: Regular maintenance and inspection of safety equipment, including lifeboats, fire-fighting systems, and communication devices, are imperative for their optimal functionality during emergencies. Ensuring that safety equipment is properly maintained can make a significant difference in handling critical situations effectively.

Cybersecurity: With the increasing digitization and automation on ships, cybersecurity becomes a crucial aspect of risk prevention. Protecting onboard systems from cyber threats is essential to prevent unauthorized access or interference that could lead to accidents or operational disruptions.

Security Measures against Piracy and Terrorism: Ships traveling through high-risk areas must implement security

measures to deter piracy and protect vessel, crew and cargo. Hiring onboard security personnel, adopting Best Management Practices (BMP), and adhering to the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code are essential components of a comprehensive security strategy. In conclusion, risk prevention strategies on ships are paramount to ensure safe and efficient maritime operations.

A well-trained crew, compliance with international regulations, risk assessments, advanced navigational aids, proper maintenance of Hull & Machinery and safety equipment, cybersecurity, and security measures against piracy are all integral components of an effective risk prevention plan which is always well appreciated and evaluated by Marine insurance Underwriters, prior to undertaking a new Marine risk and premium calculation. By implementing these strategies, ship operators can mitigate potential hazards, protect hull & machinery, crew and cargo, and preserve the marine environment for sustainable shipping practices in the future. l

www.marasco-marine.com

Environmental impact hits Panama Canal

This year’s very low rainfall in Panama, partly a result of the El Nino weather effect, combined with increased evaporation from global warming has exacerbated the Canal’s ongoing struggle to ensure sufficient freshwater levels to manage vessel transits. Water from critical sites like the Gatun and Alhajuela lakes, which rely on rainfall and river inflows, are used not only to work the canal’s lock systems but also to supply Panama with water for industry and human consumption.

Opened in 1914, the 80km Panama Canal remains a vital conduit for trade between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, last year crossed by some 32,000 vessels. Container carriers and bulk carriers are the heaviest users by vessel segment. But each transit carries a heavy toll on the country’s freshwater system, requiring some 50 million gallons.

Restrictions have therefore been introduced by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) on the draft and number of vessels transiting the waterway, with the measures expected to stay in place until at least early 2024.

flow amounting to 7 cubic hectometres (hm³) or 7 million cubic metres. However, the combined outflows from Canal operations, evaporation, human consumption, and industry were amounting to 10 hm³, it said, resulting in “a daily deficit of 3 hm³”. In a year with typical rainfall, the water inflow would average 15 hm³ per day, it added, more than twice the current level.

RESTRICTIONS

Inevitably traffic delays resulted. For example, at end August the ACP reported that a total of 135 vessels were waiting to transit the Canal at the Atlantic and Pacific entrances combined. Of these, 53 had made reservations and would transit the Canal “without delay” on their scheduled date, it added, while vessels without reservations “would experience a wait of 9 to 10 days, up from the usual 5-day wait”. In addition, the number of reservation slots available had also been reduced, local observers reported, meaning more vessels were forced to experience the longer delays.

The ACP claimed that “while the goal is to keep queues below 90 vessels”, the backlog was not unprecedented and had been encountered in previous years.

Explaining the maths behind restrictions to conserve water, the authority pointed out that the Gatun reservoir was currently receiving a daily inflow from rainfall and river

To cope with the shortfall, the ACP firstreduced available maximum draft at the Neopanamax lock, to 45.5 feet in May and then in August to 44 feet (13.41 metres) - meaning some container vessels passing through have had to unload a portion of their containers to transport overland before loading them, introducing further delays. At the later date the number of overall transits of the canal was also restricted, from the average 36 vessels a day ‘in normal circumstances’ to a maximum of 32.

At the same time the ACP said that its traffic figures showed the Canal remained the primary route for 57.5% of the total cargo transported in container ships from Asia to the eastern coast of the US, a level unchanged from 2022 figures.

A month later, at end September, the drought situation had not improved and the ACP cut the maximum number of transits allowed by a further one to 31 - nine through the Neopanamax lock and 22 through the Panamax one, effective November 1. Changes were also made to the Reservation System, to try and reduce the number of waiting vessels, which the ACP said at the time was a total of 93 vessels, in fact less than the 97 a year previously, although the figures it released showed the number of these at the Neopanamax lock (26) was more than double that of a year earlier (12).

However, the ACP stressed that the Panama Canal remained the preferred route for the container carrier segment, which it claimed had been “minimally impacted by the adjustments to draft and transits associated with the measures incorporated to conserve water.”

Analysts Drewry Maritime Research noted in midSeptember that average vessel passage time through the canal had risen to 10 days in August 2023, compared 2.7 days a year earlier, adding that some vessels had taken as long 16 days. While all vessel segments have suffered from the congestion, in August the disruption appears to have impacted Handysize and Supramax vessels more several than Panamaxes, it noted.

Ominously, it continued that “As the impact of El Nino is likely to intensify, we expect restrictions to remain in place resulting in higher voyage costs. If shippers continue operating on their normal trade routes, the longer waiting times will increase operating costs.”

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES

Drewry went on to explore the options of shifting to the alternative route of rounding South America using the Magellan Strait, which for a five-year-old traditional Panamax moving on the Colombia-Chile route would see a rise of a minimum 34% in voyage costs, it said. Similarly a vessel currently moving from the US Gulf to China would see a 28% rise in costs if it moved through the Cape of Good Hope instead of the Panama Canal.

Since each additional waiting day on the traditional route through the canal raises bunker and charter hire costs, Drewry estimates that more than 22 days of waiting time due to congestion will negate the differential between the two routes from USG to China, while it would be more economical for shippers to move through the Magellan Strait on the Colombia-Chile route if waiting days were more than 12 in Panama, as voyage costs would be breakeven.

“However, re-routing of vessels is not always feasible,” it went on to say, “certainly not without an increase in cost. Trade on the WCSA-Continent route is facing critical issues right now as there is a lack of backhaul cargo to ECSA to make the alternative route

commercially viable. Many commodities like grain and soybean are seasonal, making shifts in trade sources difficult. As the export season of the US soybean kicks in next month, trade on the USG-China route will be affected due to the continued congestion. However, EU imports of metal concentrates like lithium and copper from Chile and Peru can become more costly as voyage rates increase. This might impact trade patterns, leading to an increase in the trade of metal concentrates between Argentina and the EU.”

All of which suggests that Panama rainfall and canal water levels are something to watch carefully, particularly given the increasing effects of extreme weather and climate change. Isaac Hankes, Senior Weather Analyst at London Stock Exchange Group, comments that the Panama Canal’s very low water levels were the result of drought conditions that rapidly developed from the beginning of the year through June, which represented “a departure from a long-term wetter trend as reflected by data from 1981-present.

“While the low rainfall rate itself is not historic in nature over the long-term,” he adds, “2023 does show the largest decline in rainfall rate year over year on the record. This sudden drying after a wet 2022 is the likely culprit for the rapid drop in canal water levels.

“Furthermore, season forecast guidance through the end of the year suggests that dry weather could persist. This means that Panama Canal water levels are likely to remain exceptionally low for months ahead.” l

Hoisting flag quality

It’s been a year of mixed fortunes for the Panamaflagged fleet this year. The good news came in March when the US Coast Guard announced that Panama for the first time would be eligible its Quality Shipping for the 21st Century (Qualship21) program for the period of July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. The program recognizes and rewards vessels, as well as their owners and Flag Administrations, for their commitment to safety and quality.

For Panama to gain Qualship 21 acceptance a series of measures had been implemented to guarantee the reduction of possible detentions upon arrival of its flagged vessels in US ports. These included a special campaign of pre-emptive flag inspections, from August 2022 onwards, of vessels deemed liable to undergo Port State Control inspections by the USCG on arrival at US ports.

But in June came the bad news that the Panama Ship Registry had been added to the ‘grey list’ of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), another agreement on PSC inspections between 27 European countries and Canada. This decision to place Panama-flagged ships on the watchlist was based on their PSC inspection and detention record by Paris MOU countries over the previous three years.

The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) said that Panama Ship Registry, then numbering some 8,500 vessels, had been inspected at least 45,000 times, giving “an overall fleet compliance level of 96.17% and a detention rate of 3.83%

downward.” Inclusion on the grey list could be due to an aging fleet, the AMP said, noting that of 374 detentions reported in the last three years, 104 of the detentions involved ships more than 30 years old and 35 were of ships over 40 years old.

A year earlier, the Panama flag had been included on the Paris MOU ‘white list’, ranking 10 places higher at 36th overall.

However, improvements are underway since in July 2021 the AMP began a process of removing substandard tonnage from the Panama Ship Registry. In total it was reported that more than 6.5m gt of tonnage had been ejected, for issues related to Iran, North Korea, or vessels on international sanctions lists.

“This elimination program responds to the current administration’s commitment to comply with cleaning up the fleet, which had previously been postponed,” the AMP said.

The flag-cleansing campaign will now continue, specifically targetting older ships and substandard operators, with a view to returning Panama to the Paris MOU white list next year.

“The vessels of advanced age and whose operating companies do not maintain best practices represent a potential risk, as they may suffer accidents and detentions in Port State inspections, causing damage to the rest of the fleet, as well as to the prestige of the Panamanian flag,” the AMP said in a statement.

Separately, it has been reported that Panama’s position as the world’s largest flag may now be threatened by Liberia in gross tonnage terms, a result clearly affected by Panama’s de-listing of ships and one that suggests quality may sometimes come at the expense on quantity.

Directorate of Seafarers

Meanwhile, the AMP, through its Directorate of Seafarers, is committed to carrying out its functions focused on guaranteeing the quality and wellbeing of seafarers, explains Capt. Juan Maltez, General Director of Seafarers. This is achieved through “excellence of maritime training processes, the efficient issuance of technical documentation and the conditions of work, life

and decent accommodation for seafarers with the aim that they obtain the necessary skills and competencies to perform their functions, as well as the protection of their rights in the exercise of them,” he says, in accordance with “the legal security that our country provides.”

Approaches have been made by the AMP to various other Maritime Administrations, he adds, regarding mutual recognition of training and certification in accordance with Rule I/10 of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (1978 STCW Convention, as amended). Agreements on reciprocal recognition have to date been achieved

with the Maritime Administrations of Bahamas, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Antigua and Barbuda, as well as Japan.

Furthermore, the AMP has succeeded in obtaining European Commission approval that the certificates of competence issued to seafarers by Panama are recognized by the Member States of the European Union, following an audit of the training and certification processes of seafarers of the Panama Maritime Authority carried out by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in 2019.

In addition, an AMP delegation led by Administrator Noriel Arauz and Capt. Maltez also attended the Philippines Maritime Expo 2023 earlier this year, strengthening links between Panama and the world’s largest crew supply nation. At a meeting with Philippine representatives, Administrator Arauz spoke about the close trading ties between the two countries stretching back more than 450 years, while Capt. Maltez explained the different services provided by the DGGM - namely the responsible administration of the Panamanian -flagged merchant fleet and the training of seafarers who sail aboard its ships.

As regards initiatives that seek to promote the employment of Panamanian seafarers, Capt. Maltez relates that meetings have been held with many leading

At

Valletta

Gateway Terminals

We are a multipurpose terminal strategically located in the middle of the Mediterranean and our location makes us ideal for connections to North Africa and the South of Europe. We provide cargo handling expertise for:

shipping lines and companies at both national and international level, which has served as the basis for the signing to date of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Navesco, SAAM Towage, MSC, Euronav and Ramsey Greig, among other companies.

Going forward, such outreach activities will continue since the Panama Maritime Authority “has developed strategic plans that determine the orientations of the Organization with the aim of promoting growth within the maritime sector, especially of our seafarers,” he says.

“These efforts made by the AMP demonstrate the commitment of our Administration to comply with the international conventions ratified by the Republic of Panama, and to promote job opportunities for our seafarers,” concludes Capt, Maltez. In this way, Panama is demonstrating that Panama remains “focused on providing the international maritime industry cadets and officers with high-level professional training, competitive and at the forefront of technological demands, which guarantee safe and reliable maritime transportation.” l

• RORO (Trailers & Vehicles)

• Conventional

• Project and Bulk cargo

This report was compiled with the kind assistance of Maria Dixon, Director of ISM Shipping and former Head of Shipping at the Panamanian Consulate in London.

Multiple strengths as a maritime hub

By Felicity Landon

As home to Europe’s leading flag, a major Mediterranean transhipment port, a busy cruise terminal, prominent ship repair operations, internationally important legal services and world-class training facilities, no one questions Malta’s strength as a maritime hub.

The most recent stats available show that the maritime sector accounts for 14% of Malta’s GDP, generates €855 million worth of direct economic activity and provides almost 12,000 direct jobs.

But stakeholders say that something is missing from the picture: Malta has no dedicated ministry or minister for maritime affairs and no organisation specifically marketing Maritime Malta. They also say a long-term maritime vision is needed. They are pushing for change.

The government department Transport Malta has overall responsibility for the maritime sector – but its remit also covers aviation and roads. There was room for optimism in May when one of the Malta Maritime Forum’s own board members, Jonathan Borg, was appointed as the new CEO of Transport Malta. However, MMF Chairman Godwin Xerri told SMI: “Even though Jonathan Borg is coming from our stable, so to speak, and he is as much a believer in maritime today as he was yesterday, it is humanly impossible for him to be able to dedicate time to all the issues that are on his side. For example – congestion, traffic, how to avoid the 8 o’clock rush, when we would want to talk about the repercussions of the Fit for 55 regulations on the Maltese maritime scene.”

Just before the last elections nearly two years ago, there was a government declaration that a new Malta maritime administration would be formed; a highpowered committee was set up to draw up terms and conditions, said Xerri. “Postelection, we started getting different vibes and we are not pleased as to the progress being made on this matter. If the government wants to have a structure to support aviation maritime and road transport, we have no

problem with that. But what we keep saying is that we need focus; we need short lines of communication and we need people who speak our language so that we move ahead.”

A previous dedicated administration was disbanded in 2010. Matthew Attard, partner at Ganado Advocates and president of the Malta Maritime Law Association (MMLA), said: “The industry is pushing for the maritime sector – the registry in particular –to be demerged from Transport Malta, which takes in the ship register, land and roads, and aviation. We are arguing – the maritime industry is so large in Malta and so important that we feel it should be treated in a more or less autonomous manner.”

The industry was not happy with the government decision at the time to merge the previous maritime authority into Transport Malta, said Attard. “It meant the registry of ships would be moved from its quarters in the Grand Harbour of Valletta to a part of the island that didn’t sea the sea. But people had to accept it.”

Attard said that while the maritime section of Transport Malta ‘functions quite well’, the maritime industry should be treated differently, including creating a ten-year and 20-year plan for the future.

“The industry wants a type of rebranding to ensure that the international community out there is very well aware that there is a maritime authority. Even for decision making, it should be quicker having people focused on maritime issues rather than also having to deal with potholes or traffic problems in the morning. We need a long-term strategy to give the maritime field the importance and direction it needs.”

Godwin Xerri said: “There was always a maritime plan and the vision is generally embodied within the annual budget of the government. However, we are going beyond that; we are saying we need a 20-year vision as to where we need to go, broken down into five-year periods. As a maritime country, we have a lot of entities, both public and private, marketing their own part. But there is no one marketing Maritime Malta.

We also wish to have this maritime strategy. Luckily, we haven’t had much upheaval in the industry with changes in government – normally the two parties have always had a good understanding of the importance of maritime, both in government and opposition.”

There are more than a dozen government ministries in Malta and a lot of overlapping between them when it comes to dealing with maritime affairs, said Kevin Borg, CEO of the Malta Maritime Forum. “We want a minister dedicated to maritime affairs as there is in other countries, and an entity solely responsible for maritime affairs. Otherwise, maritime issues fall between two stools or there is overlapping,” he said.

There was, briefly, an organisation called Malta Marittima set up by the government to promote the blue economy, including the seabed, but there was lack of clarity, much overlapping, and not enough consultation beforehand, according to the MMF. “One of the objectives which was never achieved but is more than needed was for the coordination of government and public sector tasks and responsibilities related to the maritime industry,” said Kevin Borg.

Malta Marittima was associated with both transport and tourism ministries and ultimately fell away in a cabinet reshuffle, said Xerri. “However, the themes that were being tackled under Malta Marittima are as valid and important today as they were then. That is why it is vital to have a very clear maritime strategy – not to put ourselves in a straitjacket but to avoid the kneejerk reaction of situations and new entities being set up without much consultation.”

Ann Fenech, partner and head of the marine litigation department at Fenech & Fenech Advocates in Valletta and past president of the Malta Maritime Law Association (MMLA), said: “The industry is really pushing for a full, separate, standalone authority dedicated to the maritime sector. This little country in the middle of the Mediterranean has represented in it every single aspect of the sector –transhipment, yachting, cruising, provision of maritime services relating to offshore activity, ship repair, and so on. The country really deserves to have a minister for maritime affairs who can devote their time to the maritime sector.”

The Ports and Yachting Directorate, ship register, and numerous other functions are all separate entities within Transport Malta – but so are land and air transport matters, she explained.

“This is not to say that the current or previous ministers are not doing their job – I think they are doing the best they can in the circumstances and considering the demands on them – but I think we can have an even better product.”

Meanwhile, Malta’s lawyers and the wider maritime sector are encouraging the decision to set up a dedicated maritime court. A number of representatives in private practice are assisting the government in putting together the provisions for this and progress is being made, said Fenech.

“With Malta’s increased presence in the maritime sector, you can only imagine how many marine/maritime oriented cases come before the courts; Malta as a primary transhipment centre in the middle of the Mediterranean, and with its ship repair, cruise, towage, salvage, pilotage and yachting activities, as well as the litigious scenarios that come about because of registering of ships in Malta, Europe’s largest flag. There is also all the wet work that happens around ships passing through the Mediterranean between Suez and Gibraltar via Malta. We are a popular port of call when casualties happen around us. All of these various activities lend themselves to making Malta a choice of jurisdiction to settle disputes, therefore this lends itself to have a more specialised court.”

Over recent years, maritime cases have generally been channelled towards the same two judges, so that there have been very good quality shipping/maritime law judgments, she said: “But it would be excellent if we could have this in an official manner, with its own division, researchers, library and proper maritime court division. We are very hopeful that we will see the setting up of a maritime court division within the next few months; it would make Malta even more attractive and give substance to the jurisdiction.”

Kevin Borg at the MMF said: “We have been assured during a meeting at the Ministry for Justice that the necessary amendments and legal notices to constitute the maritime court are going to be presented soon. Work is already being done on premises adjacent to the law courts and we have been told that before the end of 2023, a judge will be named to adjudicate in the maritime court and two

new judges will be trained. This is very important – like any other profession, shipping is becoming more complicated in terms of financial arrangements, legalities, etc., and with Malta a major flag attracting over 9,000 ships, there is a need to give ship owners the comfort they need when it comes to legal issues. Also, a dedicated maritime court will broaden the scope of cases that Malta can deal with.”

The MMF is involved in preparations to set up a publicprivate Maritime Advisory Committee which would focus on a vision and business development for the sector, assisting in formulating a strategy.

“For example, one of the biggest challenges we have is education in the maritime industry. We are proud that our subcommittee which deals with education includes the University of Malta and the Malta College of Training, sitting together to focus on education within the maritime sector, certification and opportunities. For example, we are looking at yachting and the training and certification required for people in this sector. That would be part of the strategy. We must have a skills gap analysis which turns into what we need in order to have sufficient human resources in five, ten, 15 years.

“We have to put into the mind of students that as an island we rely on logistics, whether by sea or air. If it was up to us, logistics would be in the secondary level education curriculum.”

Ship registry

The Maltese ship registry is still a success story and this looks set to continue – but it still faces challenges both internally and externally, said Jan Rossi, senior associate at Ganado Advocates.

“Internally, certain procedures within the registry may be perceived as somewhat archaic. The [ongoing] digitalisation project has been a long time coming and is set to revolutionise the whole registry interface for service providers such as us, as well as directly with clients – ship owners, managers and operators. Unfortunately, the digitalisation project is taking longer than expected to complete and therefore from an efficiency point of view we may not be as fast as other registries in certain areas.”

Having said that, the registry has the advantage of strong procedures, heavily supported by a well-developed and court-tested legislative landscape for registration, marine enforcement and other matters, said Rossi. “So there is strong credibility that the multinational financiers still believe in and therefore they still push their client operators to select Malta for their flag.”

Outside the registry’s control, there are certain rules applicable within the EU which do not apply to non-EU flags, and ongoing tensions between the IMO and the

EU which may make flagging in Malta more complex than outside the European Union, he added. “The EU seems to be taking its own approach in certain areas, even though shipping is traditionally addressed on a global footing.”

Against this background, there are projects in the pipeline that aim to make the registry in Malta and the whole range of services more attractive, he noted. “So the overall future is challenging but bright.”

Malta remains the flag of choice for those seeking an EU flag – but at the same time, it could learn from the more commercially minded approach of non-EU flags, said Matthew Attard. “We are trying to learn as much as possible and adapt to being more commercially sensitised like the Marshall Islands, Panama and Liberia. We have quite a bit to learn from them. Malta is not relying on the fact that we are still number one, but is very careful in ensuring that we are ready for the future.”

A project high on the agenda of the MMLA is new regulation – drafted and now being finetuned – of shipping service providers, in particular the intermediaries dealing with the registration.

In a digital world, the intermediary will need to justify its existence and show that it should still form part of the equation, he said. “The intermediary needs to be adding value to the process by not creating bureaucracy, by showing that there is value in having an intermediary with the administration. The rules we are creating will ensure that anybody offering such a service is duly qualified to carry out his or her task in the most efficient manner – adding value to whoever wants to come to the flag and not being an extra hurdle.”

The success of the Maltese flag has always been the public/private approach, where the administration handles the technical and regulatory aspects and the private sector efficiently attracts the business and acts as the interface, said Attard.

There has been some indirect regulation up to now, but the success of the flag has attracted a number of agents even from outside Malta, he pointed out. “The risk is that when someone inefficient offers the flag and doesn’t offer a high enough standard, that reflects badly on the whole product. In the maritime world, we can’t afford any bad apples to taint the reputation the industry has worked to hard to achieve over the past 30 years. Hence the need to regulate more thoroughly anybody offering the service in Malta.”

Ship agents’ regulation

In another important legal development, Malta is set to have a law regulating ship agents for the first time. “There is agreement between Transport Malta and the ship agents’ association on the draft but we are waiting to finalise this because some questions have arisen,” said Ann Fenech. The new regulations will state clearly the responsibility of the ship agent and the owner, and deal with issues such as abandonment of vessels.

“Ship agents will need a licence to operate, which will be given on the basis of properly structured and registered associations, people who have a minimum number of employees who are able to provide the service of a ship agent on a 24-hour basis,” said Fenech. “They will regulate how a ship agent is appointed to make sure he has the protection of the law when he is appointed by a ship owner. As much as the regulations focus on the obligations of the ship owner, they will also outline the rights of the ship agents as well as their duties. It is all about ensuring proper standards while protecting the interests of ship agents and ship owners.”

However, Malta Maritime Forum’s Godwin Xerri expressed some frustration that after eight years of legal consultations and discussions between Transport Malta and various parties, there ‘seems to be some change of thinking’ and/or change of direction. The MMF is keen to see the regulations in place, creating standards for ship agents in Malta that are in line with international practice and standards. Transport Malta’s role as regulator is to get these finalised and in place, he said. “You will always have different views, conflicts of interests, etc. – that’s why you need the regulator to say ‘I have heard it all –this is what happens’.

“As things stand, there are practically no rules applying to ship agents in Malta. It is a question of standards – it ties in with the quality that Malta needs to offer. When a ship owner appoints an agent, he should have the comfort of knowing that there are standards that ship agents must

abide by – for example, employing a number of people licensed to be agents, to handle Customs documentation, etc. We have had cases where non-EU nationals have come to Malta, set up a one-man shop and in no time closed and disappeared. This is what we want to avoid.”

He dismisses comments he has heard about potentially stifling smaller agents. “If you are a lawyer or a pilot, there are rules and standards you need to abide by; why not ship agents? We are also pushing for the training of ship agents together with the pilotage cooperative, which has set up a training course called ‘induction to shipping’, where newcomers to the industry can gain a broad spectrum of what the industry is about and their responsibilities.

“This goes back to the concerns we always had – how trained are the ship agents when their representatives are boarding tankers, for example? Are they trained in safety measures and aware of the hazards? That is apart from the financial solidity of the agent.”

Fit for 55

A big concern in the Maltese maritime sector is the impact – or unintended consequences – of Europe’s Fit for 55 package.

“The reason is not because it exists – because of course we believe that something has to be done and the entire decarbonisation effort is in the right direction,” said Fenech. “However, we are on the periphery of Europe and bang in the middle of the Mediterranean. The EU has to be very careful that it doesn’t push traffic to the shores of North Africa. We could end up with the same vessels still creating pollution in the Mediterranean without anybody being accountable, because Fit for 55 will push lines to use African ports rather than European ports. All these ships need to do is come out of Suez and stop in Egypt, Tunisia or Tanger Med, bypassing the entire southern European ports – for example, Malta, Italy, Barcelona, Valencia. So there is a lot to be considered there.”

Judicial sales

“Even as we are talking, huge investment is going into nonEU countries bordering the Mediterranean which can act as substitutes for European ports. The objective of Fit for 55 will be defeated because the ships will still go through the Mediterranean.”

Everyone agrees in principle with the aims of the ETS and Fit for 55 regime, said Xerri. “We have to do what is needed for the environment. But we can’t remedy one area at the expense of forcing irreparable damage. Transhipment is very agile – it can be taken anywhere, and I don’t blame the shipping lines. We are seeing it happening already. We are giving Tanger Med business on a silver platter – and others are saying they will develop transhipment hubs because there is business to be done.”

Ann Fenech, appointed president of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) last year, is delighted that the new International Convention on Judicial Sales was finally signed off in Beijing in September.

For four years she was the CMI coordinator for the UNCITRAL project to create the convention, which was presented at the UN general assembly for adoption last year.

“This is very important for Malta because we handle a high number of judicial sales; it will be important for the owners who buy ships in judicial sales and also for the financiers of these purchases,” said Fenech. “We are now absolutely delighted that the EU is completely on board and actively encouraging its member states to become signatories and ratify the convention.

Malta Maritime Forum chairman Godwin Xerri said:

Ann Fenech (centre) at the recent signing off of the new Judicial Sales Convention in Beijing

MaritimeMT

MaritimeMT, the €4 million maritime training centre opened at Hal Far four years ago, has introduced a number of new training courses and programmes in the past year –and also opened a new branch in Italy.

Funded by the Malta Maritime Pilots Cooperative Society, MaritimeMT houses the Merchant Shipping Academy, the Superyacht Academy and the Small Craft Academy. In September, it launched a strategic collaboration with Gente di Mare, a training centre located in Livorno and Genoa, which will result in an expanded range of STCW courses, including yachting certification, as well as specialised and bespoke courses and mentoring students in career progression. Of particular importance is the offering of a Maltese certification. “With the Malta registry having such a prominent position in the world, having a Malta licence will add value to seafarers,” the partners said. The establishment of MaritimeMT-Italia followed the creation of MaritimeMT-Hellas in Athens last year.

Among developments at the Malta campus, MaritimeMT completed its Yachting Deck Officer Career Path with the launch of the Master limited to Yachts up to 3,000 ft Reg II/2. However, a more defining milestone was last year’s launch of the privately run course leading to the Officer in Charge of Navigational Watch Reg II/1, said Joseph Meli, responsible for marketing and operations at MaritimeMT.

“Our first cohort joined us in October [2022]; currently our cadet recruits are doing their first phase of six months sea time experience. Furthermore, we extended this launch to our partner campus in Athens, where the first cohort started in December 2022.”

This year [2023] will see the launch of the Officer in Charge of Engineering Watch Reg III/1 and the course leading to Ratings Forming Part of an Engineering Watch Reg III/4. “The target is to launch both courses during quarter four of this year – and once again, this will be a first for a private maritime training centre in Malta,” said Meli.

MaritimeMT also continues to be active in various Erasmus+ projects. One of these, MARMED, was launched at the beginning of 2023 – its objectives being to bridge the gap between the existing needs and current skillset of maritime clusters managers, ensuring upskilling of human resources and the outline of a new professional profile for increased competitiveness of Mediterranean maritime clusters, as well as boosting innovation and sustainable growth.

September saw the conclusion of ‘FutureCrew’, a project MaritimeMT led in collaboration with ACREW.

“This project was looking at ways to close the skills gap in the superyacht industry when it comes to recruitment, by setting the conditions to offer young people an adequate career path to built relevant skills and competences,” said Meli. “The project allowed us to communicate to a very active superyacht community which was happy to share its ‘grievances’ with regards to the employment realities of this niche but super-relevant sector.”

Malta Freeport Terminals

Malta Freeport Terminals is to carry out its first terminal expansion in two decades, following the signing of an agreement with the Maltese government earlier this year. The project will extend the north quay at Terminal Two by 176 metres and the west quay by 195 metres, to ensure that the MFT can handle new and future LNG-powered mega containerships carrying 23,000 containers.

When the project is complete, MFT will renounce its right to install quay cranes on the west quay at Terminal One, which is currently the most visible from the nearby shore of Birzebbuga. This, says MFT, will be a major boon for residents.

The project is expected to generate more than 160 jobs and take investment in the facility since privatisation past the €400 million mark.

Recent acquisitions at the terminal include two megamax quay cranes and installation of a new IT system to maximise efficiency of operations. MFT offers services to 120 ports worldwide, of which more than 50 are in the Mediterranean.

Valletta Gateway Terminals

The multipurpose Valletta Gateway Terminals (VGT) is negotiating with Transport Malta to invest in the refurbishment of its Deepwater Quay. The quay was designed for ships up to 20,000 dwt, but VGT wants to upgrade it to handle 80,000 dwt, to allow large cruise ships to berth, said CEO Derek Ong.

Spread across two terminals and with 1,200 metres of quay, 9,000 sq m of warehousing and 75,000 sq m of outside storage, VGT handled about 51,000 trailers last year via regular ro-ro services connecting Valletta with Palermo, Naples, Civitavecchia, Genoa, Catania, Salerno and Livorno. The two main operators are GNV and Grimaldi, and VGT also handles regular calls by car carriers.

VGT benefited from some cargoes shifting from containers to trailers during the worst of the supply chain congestion issues – even handling some transhipment traffic – but much of this volume has been moving back to containers. Most of the terminal’s throughput is domestic cargo, so that volumes are closely linked to Malta’s economic climate.

The terminal is in discussions with a shipping line that is looking for a suitable ro-pax vessel to bring cargo from Malta and Europe to Libya. “The current service Malta to Libya is containers on wheels. This service would use trailers from Europe, transhipped in Malta straight to Libya,” said Ong.

Meanwhile, plans for a multistorey car park in the car compound are awaiting approval and permits. “Once we get the permits, we will decide whether this is commercially viable,” he said. “It would hold 300 cars on each of three floors, so 900 cars, freeing up space in the compound. l

Training centre facade

Valletta Gateway Terminals’ vehicle storage and operations compound

Malta Freeport Terminals is preparing for expansion

The manoeuvring simulator at MaritimeMT at Hal Far

DP World teams with Indian cricketing legend to promote game globally

DP World has unveiled a new ‘Beyond Boundaries’ initiative, in partnership with India’s cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar and the ICC, aimed at driving the global growth of cricket. It will DP World use end-to-end network and smart logistics capabilities to distribute 50 repurposed shipping containers, each kitted out with essential equipment, to grassroots cricket clubs around the world. The first DP World container along with 40 cricket kits is being placed at the Chikhalikar Sports Club in Palghar, Maharashtra, with other destinations to follow. Kits made up of cricket bat, helmet, gloves and pads. Each container is multipurpose, also serving as a pavilion which includes an in-built scoreboard, sun protection and seating.

Speaking during the first container launch, DP World Global Ambassador Sachin Tendulkar said: “Grassroots clubs are the bedrock of every nation’s cricket. It’s heartening to see DP World’s commitment to nurturing young cricketing talent not just in India, but across the world. “ l

KVH and Intelsat support digital skills training in Africa

The Seafarer Digital Literacy Initiative is an innovative new training course helping ensure that African seafarers are equipped to thrive in the emerging digital world at seaFounded by Fieldbase Services Ltd., and sponsored by KVH Industries, Inc., and Intelsat, SDLI includes a mix of classroom training and ongoing onboard education that covers everything from basic computer skills, document sharing, and digital signatures to the use of satellite communication systems, electronic charts, remote service and support tools, and basic cybersecurity. A pilot course is being taught in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and may later be rolled out across other African ports.

“The commercial maritime industry relies upon seafarers around the globe, with African seafarers and ports playing a vital part,“ says Chris Watson, KVH’s VP of Marketing & Communications, describing SDLI as “leading the way in providing bridge crews with the basic digital literacy levels necessary to enable them to utilize digital tools and improve operations for their companies, support their crews, and aid with the safe operation of their vessels.” l

ONE funds clean drinking water projects in Ghana and Kenya

Global container shipping line Ocean Network Express (ONE) is partnering with Project Maji, a pan-African safe water NGO, to address the critical issue of clean water access in rural communities in Ghana and Kenya. Recognising the pressing need for clean water and its transformative impact on communities, ONE has funded the implementation of sustainable water solutions in both Ghana and Kenya as well as financing free water kiosks supplying rural schools. This contribution is set to make an immediate and lasting difference in the lives of those who have long grappled with water borne diseases and unsafe drinking water.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Project Maji to address the critical water crisis affecting underserved communities in Ghana and Kenya,” said Jeremy Nixon, CEO at Ocean Network Express. “Access to clean water is a fundamental human right, and through our partnership, we are working towards creating a positive ripple effect that will extend beyond health benefits to areas like education, income levels, and gender empowerment.” l

Maritime Cyprus 2023 draws top-level participation

Early October saw another highly successful edition of the Maritime Cyprus conference and exhibition, attracting over 900 senior level participants from around the world to the three-day event’s new venue of Parkland Resort & Spa in Limassol. The normally biennial eventpostponed a year in 2021 due to the pandemic – is organised by the country’s Shipping Deputy Ministry in cooperation with the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) and the Cyprus Union of Shipowners. The theme for this year was ‘Shipping in Action: An Agenda for Change’, focusing on critical issues related to upcoming policy and regulatory changes facing the maritime inustry.

The official Opening Ceremony was addressed by H.E. the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, who emphasised the importance of the shipping industry in Cyprus’ economy, its competitive advantages, and the government’s efforts to enhance further Cyprus’s role at an international and regional level in shaping shipping policies. Shipping Deputy Minister Ms Marina Hadjimanolis also played an active role, moderating one panel. The CSC organised a high-level discussion entitled ‘Sustainable Shipping towards 2050: a Mission (Im)Possible?’. The panel was moderated by Mr. Themis Papadopoulos, President of the CSC, and featured Mr. Emanuele Grimaldi, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS); Mr. Philippos Philis, President of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA); Dr. Gaby Bornheim, President of the German Shipowners’ Association (Verband Deutscher Reeder - VDR); and Mr. Nikolaus H. Schües, President of BIMCO. Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary-General of the IMO, and his successor elect Mr. Arsenio Dominguez also took part in the event, as did Ms. Adina Vâlean, the European Commissioner for Transport, and a number of leading shipowners. This year’s ‘Cyprus Maritime Personality Award’ was given to Mr George Procopiou, Chairman of Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd, in recognition of his substantial contribution to the shipping industry, spanning more than 50 years. l

Women in Maritime celebrated at IMO exhibition

A landmark London exhibition shining a spotlight on women’s contributions to maritime history opened at the IMO headquarters during London International Shipping Week in September. The SHE_SEES exhibition marked the first year of the thoughtprovoking ‘Rewriting Women into Maritime’ initiative, spearheaded by UK-based global safety and education charity Lloyd’s Register Foundation in partnership with Lloyd’s Register. The initiative taps into archive materials from across the UK and Ireland to uncover the extensive history of trailblazing female voices in the maritime industry and aims to change the tide on diversity.

Blending striking visuals, art and storytelling, the SHE_SEES exhibition featured portraits of inspiring women working in the maritime industry today – from maritime law specialists to ship surveyors. To impactfully bring their stories to life, LR worked with portrait photographer and visual artist Emilie Sandy in collaboration with weaver and artist Erna Janine. The Rewriting Women into Maritime project is set to expand internationally next year. To find out more, please visit: hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/whats-on/rewriting-women-into-maritime-history . l

Analysis Drybulk prospects hanging on the Chinese economy

BIMCO predicts that any modest recovery in drybulk rates is predicated on China’s economic performance, as Ian Cochran reports.

Global drybulk cargo volume is forecast grow between 1.5% and 2.5% this year and between 1% and 2% in 2024. In addition, the average haul is expected to increase between 0.5% and 1.5% in 2023, driven by sanctions on Russian coal and higher iron ore and grain shipments from Brazil {see Graph 1], BIMCO said in its third quarter markets roundup.

According to the IMF, GDP in China is set to grow by 5.2% this year and 4.5% in 2024, above the Chinese government’s target of 5% for 2023.

However, since June, Chinese economic conditions have deteriorated. To address this, the Chinese government has

announced support measures and lowered interest rates further.

In a low case scenario, where the Chinese government’s latest stimuli are ineffective, BIMCO forecast drybulk demand will grow by 0.5% less than in the 2023 base case and by 1% less next year.

A more positive scenario was considered unlikely.

Looking at the main bulk shipping markets, global iron ore shipments were forecast to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% in 2023 and between 1% and 2% in 2024.

So far this year, steel production has increased by 3.5% in China, driven by higher steel exports, and causing a small build-up of steel inventories. However, domestic steel demand remained weak.

Between January and July this year, Chinese iron ore imports grew by 6.9% but inventories declined. During the second half of this year, some inventory rebuilding may occur, thus supporting the Capesize sector.

Excluding China, global steel production fell by 3.3% yearon-year between January and

For advanced economies, the IEA expected coal demand to decline next year faster than it will increase in China, India, and Southeast Asia combined. Until the third quarter of this year, China drove the global coal shipment increase.

The outlook for India, the second largest coal importer, was also uncertain. Thus far in 2023, higher domestic coal mining caused imports to fall, even as electricity demand increased. If India continues to boost domestic supplies, it could hasten the decline in next year’s global coal shipments.

Sea grain movements have become more challenging since the end of the grain agreement, although negotiations for alternative solutions are ongoing and ships appear to be on the move again in mid-September, albeit in very small numbers.

Restrictions on Indian rice exports, including a ban on non-basmati rice shipments, which started in July, are also tightening global grain supplies.

July, limiting iron ore shipment growth. Steel exporting countries’ production, such as in Japan and South Korea, fell on China’s lower import demand and higher competition from its steel exports. Furthermore, steel production in Europe continued to struggle, due to high energy prices and low domestic demand.

As for coal, in a base case, BIMCO estimated that shipments will grow between 4% and 5% in 2023 but fall to between 1% and 3% next year. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global coal demand could rise 0.4% in 2023, reaching a new peak, before falling 0.1% in 2024 [see Graph 2].

Moving on to the grain markets, based on US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates, BIMCO predicted that shipments will fall between 1.5% and 2.5% in 2023, only to recover between 3% and 4% next year [see Graph 3].

This year’s maize exports are expected to drop by 12.4% before growing 11.1% in 2024, as shipments from Argentina and the US recover. Soybean exports are estimated to grow by 10.2% in 2023 and by 4.3% in 2024. Wheat and other smaller grain volumes are expected to decline slightly in both years amid limited supplies.

Ukraine harvest decline

The Russian/Ukraine situation will result in another year where Ukrainian grain harvests yields decline. Black

Lastly, BIMCO expected minor bulk shipments to grow between 0.5% and 1.5% in 2023 and between 2% and 4% in 2024. In recent months volumes have started to strengthen after a period of decline.

As for the supply side of the equation, the drybulk fleet is expected to grow by 2.8% this year and by 2.1% in 2024 [see Graph 4].

Between January and July

this year, bulk carrier contracting fell 10.7% y/y, which caused the total drybulk orderbook to slip to 7.7% of the fleet. Uncertainty over alternative fuels and weaker freight rates contributed to the lower investment in tonnage.

Bulk carrier deliveries are expected to reach 34.4 mill deadweight tonnes (DWT) in 2023 and 32.3 mill DWT in 2024, slightly above 2022 levels. The fastest growing bulker type deliveries next year will be Supramaxes, which are estimated at 13.3 mill DWT.

Over 3.1 mill DWT were recycled since the start of this year, a 47.5% y/y increase but remains a small fraction of the drybulk fleet. Recycling is expected to reach 6.1 mill DWT this year and 7.5 mill DWT in 2024. Due to lower sailing speeds, fleet productivity is estimated to decrease by 1-2% in 2023 and 0.5-1.5% in 2024. Since the beginning of this year, laden and ballast speeds have dropped by 2.5% and 1.8%, respectively.

Overall, BIMCO expected a marginal tightening of the supply/ demand balance until the end of 2024 [see Graph 5].

As for freight rates, average drybulk rates have weakened since the second half of 2022. In August, Capesize was the only segment where rates improved compared to a year ago.

Spot rates could marginally increase during the rest of 2023, compared to August levels, provided that the Chinese economy does not weaken further. The forward freight agreements (FFAs) pointed towards slightly higher rates for the rest of the year across all segments, BIMCO said.

Meanwhile, Bancosta Research said that benchmark newbuilding prices in Sep 2023 were about USD 60 mlll for a Capesize, USD 39 mlll for a Panamax (82k DWT), USD 37.5 mlll for a Supramax, and USD 32 mlll for a Handy (38k DWT). l

Alternative Viewpoint

Ammonia can be hazardous as a fuel if handled unwisely

By Singapore-based journalist Jaya Prakash

Consensus is surging across the world that ammonia is one of the alternative marine fuels of choice, along with others such as green and blue hydrogen and biofuels, and the feeling in Singapore, one of the world’s largest bunkering hubs, is no exception.

Dr Iris Jiyeon Kim of Ocean Ring Maritime, based in Singapore, points out that “ammonia has a slow combustion rate but does not emit carbon when burned, can be produced environmentally and is easy to store and handle. Competition [for ship technology] is intensifying mainly in three major shipbuilding countries - Korea, China and Japan - and Europe. Ammonia engines, fuel tanks, and fuel supply systems will be the centre of development and applying to large ships is an important task for commercialization of ammonia ships.”

For example, Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and ship engine manufacturer Wärtsilä are looking to develop newbuild vessels with 4-stroke, ammonia-fuelled auxiliary engines with a focus on container vessels and very large crude carriers.

“Ammonia is one of main candidates in shipping’s search for future fuels,” explains Sebastiaan Bleuanus, General Manager, Research Coordination & Funding, Wärtsilä Marine Power. Wärtsilä has already proven an engine concept running on blends of up to 70% ammonia so far and will have a concept running on pure ammonia by the end of the year, he adds “This project is a fantastic opportunity to accelerate development of the solutions shipping will need.”

In addition, a teaming of ClassNK, Singapore-based Consort Bunkers, Daihatsu Diesel, Daikai Engineering and SeaTech Solutions International (S) recently signed an MOU to jointly study development of an ammonia-fuelled ammonia bunkering tanker design, intended for initial use in the Port of Singapore.

Yet, ammonia for all of its attractive future fuel properties must be ‘watched’ carefully. Per Christer Lund,

a science and technology counsellor in Singapore’s Norwegian Embassy, says: “It is toxic. One needs to take extra measures and so long as the proper safety methodologies are in place it can be loaded and offloaded even as it may in principle, be dangerous.”

Worth bearing in mind is that ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen but no carbon, which makes for ‘smoother’ propulsion without the need for any use of scrubbers or emissions abatement. A corresponding drawback is the acrid smell it emits when heated to high temperatures. Like alternative fuels it has a lower energy density.

But even as ammonia has been touted as not being highly flammable in itself, the danger actually lies in its concentrations in the air. As little as 0.5% can cause fatalities thus presenting a clear and present danger to people.

Charles Haskell, Decarbonisation Programme Manager at Lloyd’s Register, recently argued at a conference in Singapore that ammonia fuel systems must be designed, manufactured, operated, and maintained carefully to ensure the safety of the ship crews, port staff and fuel suppliers.

Indeed, there is a growing belief that safety procedures must be redrawn in order to avoid adverse impacts that ammonia handling may have on seafarers and others at seaports.

Kapil Berry, Business Development Director of DNV based in Singapore, underlines some of the complexities involved in a full-scale transformation to ammonia. “We need to know how engine makers will take to the new demands,” he says, explaining that for example “piping systems must change, and for fuel storage systems, bunker storage.” Even seafarers’ sleeping facilities have to be looked at and seafarers themselves must be retrained.

Every one of the these safety topics could form a conference item in itself, he adds ominously. l

Technical

Fighting spirit drives European yards

By David Tinsley

While naval work underpins a very high proportion of European shipyard activity, the over-dependence on cruise vessel construction as regards large-scale commercial shipbuilding is increasingly seen as a potential weakness.

With virtually all deep-sea mercantile tonnage and large ferry projects now the province of Asian shipbuilders, the loss or degradation of the technologically complex, outfittingintensive cruise vessel segment would jeopardise the European industry’s future.

China’s entry into the luxury passengership newbuild market reached a seminal stage in July this year when the 5,000-berth, 135,500gt Adora Magic City set out from the Shanghai Waigaoqiao yard on sea trials, signalling a new and determined, high-end competitive challenge to Europe. For the European players to ensure production continuity, and ensure viability into the next decade, a broader work spread needs to be achieved along with political recognition of the industry’s economic and strategic worth.

The Association of German Shipbuilders & Maritime Technology Suppliers (VSM) contends that China and South Korea are posing ‘unfair’ competition, engendered through both overt and covert support and financial mechanisms on the part of their respective governments. VSM suggested that shipbuilders in Europe could disappear altogether in just 10 years’ time if the European Commission (EC) and individual EU countries do not address the situation.

While EU action is still absent in response to the industry’s travails and its calls for a ‘level playing field’, the German Federal Government displayed some acknowledgement of concerns through the announcement last year of a new package of financial measures. This entailed increased funding towards ‘green’ shipping, encompassing the development of environmentally friendly maritime technology and construction of zero-emission ships.

European shipbuilding’s representative body SEA Europe has recently reaffirmed its call on the EC to issue a maritime industry act, to address the specific needs and challenges of

Monfalcone shipyard, one of the Italian jewels in the Fincantieri crown.

European shipyards and marine equipment manufacturers. The act should enable the sector to tap into business opportunities arising from the European Green Deal, the Green Deal Industrial Plan and Net-Zero Industry Act, and strengthen or regain competitiveness in areas strategically important to Europe, not least as regards the energy transition and defence.

While Europe’s commercial shipbuilding sector has continued to contract under intensified competition from Asia, and China in particular, the industry in Italy retains substantial critical mass and work volume. Supportive national policy has much to do with the Italian resilience, but a pragmatic business approach is also a key factor. Notwithstanding the continuing dearth of fresh newbuild commitments from the mass-market cruise operators, stateowned Fincantieri has reported a progression in overall order intake, production volume and revenues for the first half of 2023 relative to the same period of 2022, consolidating its position as Europe’s largest shipbuilding organisation.

The ongoing refinement of the group’s product portfolio in Italy, where eight of its 18 yards are located, has accompanied its sustained global leadership and continuity of output in the cruiseship construction market, which it now believes is poised for a return to long-term growth. In the meantime, the realisation of new opportunities in the offshore renewable energy and Italian and international defence markets offer the prospect of full production capacity utilisation and a 5% uplift in revenues and margins for the 2023 full year. Not always perceived as in the European long-term interest, Fincantieri’s technological input has helped drive China’s entry into luxury passengership construction.

Dutch shipbuilders continue to show steadfastness and business verve, most graphically expressed in the production of

vessels for the short-sea and inland shipping markets. Positive influences are an expansion-minded and innovative domestic shipowning and shipmanagement community, with recourse to an extensive supply chain and network of knowledge centres, underpinned by a Dutch propensity for cost-minded, technologically pragmatic solutions. Nonetheless, a dearth of new contracts for larger, complex vessels, and the unerring incursion into core fields by overseas, notably Chinese and Indian builders, has prompted calls for more government incentives and intervention to safeguard shipbuilding at home in the face of aggressive foreign competition. While Dutch technology and design figures prominently in newbuild contracts taken abroad by Dutch owners and operators, it is considered that diminution of shipbuilding’s critical mass could threaten the overall industrial cluster.

On June 30 this year, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management was eventually granted EUR210 million( $227 million) from the National Growth Fund to implement the much-vaunted Maritime Master Plan and its objectives as to the joint development of ‘smart’ and emission-free vessels.

The central aim encompasses digital design and robotised production, and the realisation of about 40 ‘climate-neutral’ technology demonstrators that will run on hydrogen or methanol or on LNG with carbon capture. The subject vessels are envisaged for the coastal/short-sea and inland waterway trades, and for the offshore wind energy, search and rescue, and other specialised sectors.

A northern research consortium coordinated by Conoship International has examined the feasibility of a shared centre for robotised shipbuilding production. The completed report under the SHARED FACILITY initiative was handed over

to the Groningen provincial authority in January 2023, and demonstrated that an automated, micro panel line would be technically, financially and organisationally feasible given sustained cooperation.

Dutch dredge design and technology, specialised equipment and systems permeate dredger newbuild schemes around the world, but the drift of actual vessel construction overseas has taken its toll on the Dutch shipbuilding industry. Consequently, a potentially important recent event was the signing by Royal IHC of a letter of intent (LOI) with Boskalis for a 31,000m3-capacity trailing suction hopper dredger. Confirmation of the contract, which would be the group’s first large-scale project since last year’s restructuring, would allow the re-opening of its Krimpen aan den IJssel shipyard, to effect delivery of the envisaged newbuild in mid-2026.

In what some believe could signal a new dawn for UK shipbuilding, an initiative to help stimulate orders for UK shipyards has been launched by the Westminster Government. The Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme (SCGS) is designed to help owners or operators access finance for newbuild contracts and also for upgrade projects undertaken at UK yards, whereby the government will act as guarantor for lenders.

Originally proposed as the Home Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme, the SCGS is seen as elemental to the effectiveness of the revised National Shipbuilding Strategy, launched by the UK Government in March 2022 to revitalise the country’s shipbuilding industry. In a change to similar arrangements that have been previously available only to non-domestic shipowners or investors, the SCGS stands to also benefit domestic buyers and exporters, which should encourage more investment in the UK maritime industry.

The SCGS will provide a guarantee of up to 80% to a lender making a loan in connection with the construction of a new vessel, or a refit, retrofit or repair of an existing vessel at a UK yard. Shipyards will receive payment via the credit facility as amounts fall due under the commercial contract, akin to a cash transaction. Each application must satisfy the Department of Business and Trade’s eligibility criteria relating to shipyard, bank and contractual structure involved in each case.

Early response from both the shipping industry and builders has been positive, although the financial community is taking a more measured approach, awaiting further details as to loan recovery conditions. Market sources anticipate potential take-up of the scheme by owners looking to undertake largescale conversions and also retrofit projects driven by net-zero emission goals.

Perhaps significantly, just a few days after making a statement welcoming the introduction of SCGS, the Harland & Wolff Group, a re-born and growing force in the industry, announced the receipt of a letter of intent for the mid-life upgrade and drydocking of a large vessel. Although owner and ship have not been identified, the deal would be worth in

the region of £60-70 million ($75.5-88 million), and has already generated an initial payment of £5 million ($6.3 million) for preparatory work at Belfast.

The revised National Shipbuilding Strategy constitutes an update (‘refresh’) of the 2017 strategy. However, while retaining the earlier policy’s strong focus on naval shipbuilding, the revised plan gives much closer attention than before to the commercial vessel market and to the supply chain.

Pivotal to the strategy is the delineation of a £4 billion ($5 billion) Government procurement programme over the next 30 years, covering naval ships and other state-owned vessels. This is described as ‘the pipeline of work’. It is intended to provide shipbuilders and related sectors with an outline of requirements over the long-term, instilling confidence among shipbuilders that they can continue to plan and invest in the knowledge that there will be continuity in demand. However, each shipbuilder will have to compete for available work-companies will not automatically qualify for contracts or receive any subsidies to attract those orders. The shipbuilding ‘pipeline’ comprises more than 150 publicly-owned (naval and civil) vessels.

Meanwhile, a return to ship construction at Belfast is in the offing after a gap of two decades, as a consequence of the selection of the Team Resolute consortium, incorporating Harland & Wolff, as preferred bidder for the next generation of deep-sea replenishment vessels for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary(RFA). Blocks and components will be sourced from H&W’s three other UK yards and fabrication sites, while significant input plus technology transfer will come from Navantia of Spain.

State-owned shipbuilding and naval defence contractor Navantia created a British subsidiary in 2022, to reinforce partnerships in the UK shipbuilding and offshore wind energy sectors, and not only with H&W. l

Meyer Werft cruiseship production continuity: Carnival Jubilee was floated out in July

A new dawn: large-scale shipbuilding set for return in Belfast as resurgent Harland & Wolff grows its UK yard network and orderbook

Optimisation

Voyage optimisation means looking beyond cost savings

Sustainability means more than just defending the environment, it’s about protecting your business too, writes

Anders Bruun, CEO of Coach Solutions

To read some of the claims being made in the shipping market it seems as though if we took all available vessel efficiency and optimisation solutions and implemented them across the fleet, shipping would be a net electricity generator. Of course, we know it’s a bit more complicated than that. It doesn’t need to be, however.

Here are six things we think the industry needs to know if we want to make sustainable shipping simpler.

Optimisation software will not save the world – the IMO and EU have that job

The question we often get from people in the shipping industry looking at our services is ‘how much money/fuel/CO2 can your software save us?’. It is typically not a question that comes from the users but rather from their managers or financial departments.

Some decision-makers still try to rank the value of a given system by the potential savings they claim they can offer. This mentality is kept alive by optimisation solutions making big claims about tonnes of CO2 avoided with an infinitely increasing savings ticker on their website.

Regulations mean owners need to optimise but we need honesty about the process

It is an undisputable fact that performance monitoring and route optimisation are among the best short-term methods to cut emissions and increase operational efficiency and any shipping company not utilizing both should start doing so sooner than later. However, both methods only offer decision support, and the actual savings are found in the actions they invoke.

Shipowners by and large are willing to comply with regulations but they are in shipping to make a profit.

It doesn’t need to be either/or; profit and sustainability go hand in hand. What optimisation really requires is a change management process.

Claims of emissions reductions are meaningless unless they can be benchmarked

There are so many optimisation solutions around, each claiming they can save 10-15% of vessel carbon emissions, but there’s no way of judging whether these claims have any value because we can’t know what any of them is being compared to. Most such statements don’t stand up to detailed scrutiny.

There are way too many companies pushing solutions that they can’t really stand behind and that makes choice confusing for operators. We totally get that a start-up mentality is useful; when we started Coach in 2011 from inside Clipper Shipping Group we were a start-up, but we understood the commercial, operational and technical aspects of shipping.

Commercial imperative comes first, environmental responsibility naturally follows

We think that sustainability means more than just defending the environment, it’s about protecting your business. Of course, shipping has a really strong focus on carbon emissions reduction and that’s a good thing, but the truth is that take-up is always going to be slow unless there is a benefit to the bottom line.

Any optimisation system a vessel operator chooses needs to cater to their commercial needs; simply presenting data does not equal insight that necessarily has any value.

Good quality data and validation points are what makes the difference

Despite the noise around digitalisation, gathering accurate, actionable vessel performance data continues to be a huge issue for vessel operators. It is hard enough on owned assets but on chartered tonnage, getting valid data is a difficult, time-consuming process that often still relies on interpreting noon reports.

Without valid data you are just another person with an opinion; the key aspect is the ability to optimize on the right data. This sounds logical but many systems don’t include a proper validation process but simply rely on whatever reporting already exists onboard.

Software needs to be simple to be used onboard –we can do the complex bit ashore

Ultimately, optimising a voyage requires taking the complexity out of collecting the data, especially if that

complexity is there as a smokescreen for knowledge gaps. Small amounts of data can create actionable insights, they just need to be compared to something meaningful.

Optimization software plays a crucial role in this context by giving the responsible staff the necessary clarity to navigate the many and often conflicting drivers and restrictions around daily vessel operations.

In conclusion, reducing emissions from vessel operations is a result of doing things differently and can be supported by optimisation software. But the real driver is to make better decisions, and as shown by the latest upturn in shipping rates, unchecked profit tends to take priority over sustainability. This is why global carbon taxes and a level playing field are important tools to drive the sustainability revolution.

At Coach Solutions, we do not claim that we can reduce emissions. But we promise that we will make it much simpler for you to reduce them by making the sustainable choice every time. You just need to make that choice. l

About Coach Solutions

Created by Danish naval architects and commercial shipping experts, Coach Solutions says its mission is to ‘simplify sustainable shipping’, providing easy-to-use and reliable software solutions for voyage planning, optimisation, and vessel performance by transferring validated data into actionable insights.

The company has developed The Valid Collection – a series of shipping tools designed to provide high-quality data on which clients can base commercial decisions without expensive investments. Some 120 validation points are used to verify the data entered by the vessel’s crew, which includes cargo data, position, consumption, speed, route, and more.

Additionally, hourly AIS positions and hindcast weather conditions are utilized to validate the data.

Owned by Kongsberg, Coach Solutions is based in Copenhagen and also has offices in Athens, Singapore, Houston and Mumbai.

Navigation Data alerting ship owners to the unattended bridge

AI technology is highlighting a fleet-wide issue that some shipping companies were unaware of, according to ShipIn Systems’ Osher Perry

Instances of vessels with unattended bridges are likely more common than most shipowners and operators know – a worrying trend for an industry where safety is paramount.

Data highlighting this issue has been gathered using an AI-powered CCTV system to monitor onboard operations and flag any maintenance or safety issues. One shipowner discovered that a shocking 20% of vessels with the technology on board had incidents where the bridge was, at one time or another, left unattended.

It’s difficult to say how widespread this issue truly is since shipowners and operators were unaware of the problem until seeing the data generated by the AI platform installed on their vessels. However, one tanker company that was suffering losses from navigational incidents detected several lapses in bridge watchkeeping practices across its fleet, with alerts for an unattended bridge flagged by the onboard technology. Since then, the tanker operator has introduced more effective navigational practices and training, significantly improving watchkeeping protocols and enhancing navigational safety. Another finding is that some officers are willing to vacate the bridge, believing the navigational and avoidance systems will steer the ship safely in their absence. However, even the most sophisticated digital systems need to be monitored constantly to ensure the vessel remains on course and navigates any potential obstacles. This only highlights the value of the system in keeping vessels safe and pushing fleets toward navigational excellence.

The value of alerting crew and fleet managers to an unattended bridge is immediately clear once the system is installed onboard. However, bridge watch behaviour is only one of the many use cases for this type of powerful AI system. Data from AI-powered technology also enables captains onboard and operations teams ashore to identify and address other issues such as crewmembers not wearing the right personal protective equipment (PPE), potential MARPOL violations, or infrequent maintenance of engine equipment onboard.

Moreover, the technology can alert crew to any health issues involving colleagues who are taken ill or injured while working – sending out an alert for an unconscious person onboard. It can also help establish the level of compliance for dealing with potential hazards such as close proximity to shore or poor visibility. Without an AI-powered platform, shipowners and operators may not even realise there are bridge, PPE or crew-related issues on board their vessels until an incident has already occurred.

Clean Seas IMO should seek reduction of underwater noise during transition to cleaner ships

“This IMO Workshop must identify and prioritise actions that will make ships quieter and reduce their climate impact”, said John Maggs, President of the Clean Shipping Coalition. “Earlier this year, IMO members adopted new targets to jump-start decarbonisation of the global shipping fleet, including a commitment to cut ship climate emissions by 30% by 2030 - it is clear that there is a large overlap between measures that can be implemented quickly to reduce ship climate impacts and those that also reduce ship-source underwater noise pollution.

“The easiest short term measure is for ships to slow down to reduce the cavitation effect, which not only results inquieter and more efficient ships and lower greenhouse gas emissions, it will also reduce the number of marine animals hit and killed by ships.”

“It will be important that IMO Member States emerge from this workshop ready to pursue the quieting of shipping in tandem with efforts to decarbonise the global shipping fleet”, said Sarah Bobbe, Arctic Program Manager of Ocean Conservancy.

Access to this type of valuable data provides those insights, enabling shipping companies to introduce better training and onboard protocols that make seafaring safer for today’s mariners. For management ashore, the data also highlights top performance and best practice within the fleet; findings that can be shared for more efficient and effective operations across the board.

Osher Perry is Co-Founder and CEO of maritime technology company ShipIn Systems. The company’s AI-powered platform FleetVision™ monitors operations and improve processes to drive safety and security onboard maritime fleets. l

“Work should start immediately on ‘win-win’ solutions like slower speeds and the use of modern wind power,” he added.

“The IMO has significant opportunities to reduce underwater noise by ensuring that ships are both quieter and more efficient - this can be achieved by better operation of vessels, retrofitting quieting technology and designing quieter ships”, said Eelco Leemans, Technical Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance.

“The most important source of continuous underwater noise in shipping is cavitation, or production of vacuum bubbles by propellers. The noise emitted by ships overlaps with sound produced and used by marine mammals, making it hard for these animals to communicate, find food and even to navigate. Fish, invertebrates and a variety of other marine species are also negatively impacted by ship-generated noise.

“As cleaner, greener ships are designed and built to meet targets on reducing climate emissions, underwater noise reduction targets should be simultaneously achieved. This can be done immediately by specifying the amount of noise reduction needed, and providing appropriate information and regulatory drivers to support the transition to efficient and quieter ships.” l

A guide on digitalisation for shipping companies

How to overcome the top 5 challenges in crew travel management

By C Teleport

The maritime industry is on the brink of a digital revolution, teeming with both opportunities and complexities. This guide aims to navigate you through the top 5 challenges of automating various processes within your maritime enterprise.

Digitalisation offers undeniable efficiency gains, enhancing your competitive edge and freeing your team to focus on what truly matters. However, it also presents its own set of challenges. From overcoming employee resistance to navigating the intricacies of a global rollout, let’s explore how to successfully steer through these complexities.

CHALLENGE #1: GLOBAL ROLLOUT & SPEED OF ADOPTION

Initiating a global digital transformation in maritime operations is no small feat. It’s a complex task that demands not only technological expertise but also a well-prepared team and a receptive company culture. One of the most frequent stumbling blocks is the delay in rolling out new systems. These delays often occur because different offices within the same company may have varying perspectives on the adoption process.

To navigate this challenge effectively, it’s advisable to designate a specific individual in each office to take charge of the project rollout. This person can serve as a liaison between the central team and the local office, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Providing a clear roadmap and articulating the benefits of automation can further facilitate a smoother transition. Communication tools like video calls, shared presentations, or even recorded messages can be invaluable in getting the message across

and ensuring that everyone understands the vision and the steps needed to achieve it.

CHALLENGE #2: TOO MANY SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

In today’s digital world, having too many software options can make things confusing rather than helpful. The secret to successful digitalisation is picking a solution that integrates seamlessly with your existing systems, thereby streamlining your workflow. In industries like maritime, where operations are often complex and far-reaching, the right software can be a critical asset.

Thoughtful digitalisation has the power to enhance scalability while simplifying operations. To achieve this, it’s crucial to look for software solutions that not only offer dual integration but also complement your existing systems. This creates a coherent software suite that empowers users to be more productive. Dual integration allows for automated budget control and ensures that costs are kept in check. The outcome is a significant reduction in manual tasks and a lower likelihood of errors, leading to a more efficient and manageable process.

CHALLENGE #3: EMPLOYEE RESISTANCE

The automation of crew travel management can be a double-edged sword for employees, particularly in maritime sectors where the stakes are high. On one hand, it promises to relieve them of mundane tasks, freeing them to focus on more impactful work. On the other hand, it can spark fears of job loss or redundancy among the staff. Addressing this challenge requires more than just technological solutions; it calls for a human touch. This challenge is particularly acute among

We are proud to be a partner of C Teleport, one of the fastestgrowing OTAs, and excited to contribute to their mission of transforming travel experiences in the maritime sector

Kathryn Wallington, Head of MEA, UK & IE, Central & Eastern EU at Travelport

employees who may not be tech-savvy or who feel their roles could become redundant.

To address this, it’s crucial to engage in open communication well in advance of any changes. Training sessions can be instrumental in helping employees become more comfortable with new software, thereby reducing anxiety and resistance. Opting for a software provider that goes beyond mere implementation to offer post-launch customer satisfaction sessions can make all the difference. This ensures that employees transition from feeling threatened to feeling empowered by the new technology.

CHALLENGE #4: ENDLESS PROJECTS

The risk of projects becoming never-ending is a significant concern when automating crew travel management. This can drain both resources and morale, highlighting the need for strong management support and a well-defined plan.

To avoid this pitfall, it’s essential to establish clear project goals and the criteria for completion. Regular reviews of the project timeline are crucial, but they should be efficient—lasting no more than 15 minutes and focusing solely on identifying any risks of not meeting the deadline and any bottlenecks. Communication with project leads and software providers is key to ensuring that everyone is aligned and aware of the project’s status and goals.

CHALLENGE #5: SELECTING THE RIGHT SOFTWARE FOR YOUR NEEDS

In the ever-expanding world of SaaS solutions, every provider claims to be the best fit for your company. However, making the wrong choice can lead to wasted time and resources, and may even put your business objectives at risk. To mitigate this, it’s crucial to conduct a thorough assessment of needs.

Start by consulting with end-users to identify current pain points, which may not always be obvious or vocalised. This will help you create a list of essential criteria that any chosen software must meet. It’s also advisable to research multiple software providers and ask them directly about their unique selling points, such as deep integration capabilities and their

ability to source global airfares from multiple providers. This level of openness can save time for both parties if it becomes clear that the software’s unique features are not aligned with the company’s needs.

CHARTING YOUR COURSE FORWARD

Navigating the complexities of digitalisation in the maritime industry doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By understanding the challenges and knowing how to address them effectively, shipping companies can turn potential obstacles into opportunities for growth and efficiency.

If you’re tired of hitting roadblocks and are ready for a smoother journey, perhaps it’s time to consider a more innovative approach. With the right guidance and a comprehensive platform, your transition to a fully digital operation can be both successful and sustainable. In this context, C Teleport emerges as a beacon, offering not just a platform but a partnership.

Would you like to find out more about digitalisation and how C Teleport can help you automate your crew travel management? Get in touch with our experts for a quick demo: cteleport.com/demo

ABOUT C TELEPORT

C Teleport is a leading force in the digitalisation of crew travel management for the maritime and aviation industries. Headquartered in Rotterdam and with a global presence, the company provides an integrated online platform that allows businesses to search, book, change, and cancel travel arrangements with ease. Special features are tailored to meet the unique travel needs of crews across various sectors, streamlining the management of bookings and budgets in one centralised platform.

Recently recognized as a ‘Startup to Watch’ by Startup Fountain, C Teleport has distinguished itself in the top 1% for monthly revenue and strong recurring revenue. With thousands of users worldwide and a dedicated team, C Teleport is setting new standards in digital crew travel management. l

The time has come to automate your crew travel management.

Objects of Desire

» Real-time translations

Pocketalk is a multi-sensory, two-way translation device. With a large touchscreen, noise-cancelling microphones and a text-to-translate camera, Pocketalk is a formidable piece of equipment which creates connections across 82 different languages. The sleek design is equipped with high-quality, noise-cancelling microphones and two powerful speakers so it’s easy to have full conversations, even in noisy environments. The camera instantly recognizes and translates text, the written word, and signs. A large touch screen provides a text translation for additional clarity. An absolute god-send for the less lingual among us.

Pocketalk

£299.00 uk.pocketalk.com

» Sound & Speed

» Pear scent

» Understated awesome

Boasting several of the best electric sea toys to rent, Mallorca Yachtfun has something for everyone from either a day to one month. Should you be on this beautiful island any time soon, just collect from the premises or have an experience delivered to your door. Stocking a fantastic range of sea toys including Sea Bobs, Hydrofoils and Electric Surfboards, 100% customer satisfaction is at the heart of the service making it exceptionally popular with charter boats, meaning charter guests can benefit with the pick-up and delivery so it’s simple to arrange. No boat? Do not worry as everything can be delivered to your favourite beach, allowing you to explore the coastline in style and be the envy of fellow beach goers!

Sea Toys yacht.fun

Bang & Olufsen has recently launched a new collection with motorsport pioneers Ferrari and champions Bang & Olufsen’s excellence in aluminium and celebrates the two brands’ shared passion for poise, power, and precision, by reimagining a series of headphones and speakers: the Beosound 2 home speaker, Beoplay H95 headphones, Beoplay EX earphones and the portable speaker Beosound Explore and in a most striking shade of red delivers a 360-degree home audio experience that fills any space it is placed into. Its design is flexible to allow for floor, table or shelf placement, and can be moved easily from room to room. What’s not to want about these works of art?

Beosound 2 Speakers

€4999.00

bang-olufsen.com

» Pandora’s box

Surprise anyone by choosing from the unlimited range of jewellery from Pandora. An absolute genius brand, there is an unlimited choice of bracelets, rings and earrings with the signature pieces being the charm bracelet and stacking rings. With charms for every person, occasion and sentiment, Pandora makes buying gifts a dream and with Christmas on the horizon, there’s something to tickle the fussiest of fancies. The only problem is knowing which to choose… The idea is to buy a bracelet and to add the charms forever more!

From inspiration to the ingredients, this perfume emitting Englishness is at the sweet pea-centre of this Jo Malone perfume. It is no wonder, then, that the desire to capture this sensation and bottle it became something of a quest for Céline its creator. ‘When we started to work on the original fragrance more than 10 years ago, it was near impossible to include a natural pear in the fragrance. So, we had been working on how we could reformulate.’ The way the pear has been discussed in so many ways describes it as elegant, luscious, sophisticated and exquisitely depicted in this most beautiful scent from a most established and appreciated brand.

English Pear & Freesia Cologne (118 ml)

£118.00

jomalone.co.uk

» DB5 at 60

Celebrating six decades of the world’s most iconic car, this September marked the 60th year of the Aston Martin DB5 and the remarkable performance of the most famous car in the world. An icon of British culture, design and innovation, the DB has firmly established Aston Martin as one of Britain’s most desirable luxury brands. In average condition, an Aston Martin DB6 Vantage is worth around £210,000 with the most expensive selling for around £570,885. Visit the official site and take your pick from the best in the world.

DB5-6 Range

£100-500,000. astonmartin.com

Charm Bracelet

From £100.00 pandora.com

Review

Maritime Matters

mtss.org.sg

Esben Poulsson

Completing his ‘A Life in Shipping’ in 2018, Esben Poulsson, whose day job is heading up Singapore operations for Greek owner Enesel, introduces his latest magnum opus, ‘Maritime Matters’. Sitting on nine boards and being an active vice president at the charity Mission to Seafarers, as well as former ICS chairman, it’s surprising he found time to pen his second book thanks to the generous support of three sponsors, The UK P&I Club, Cambiaso Risso Group and Moore Stephens. Containing a foreword by BW Group chairman Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Maritime Matters follows on from Poulsson’s earlier memoirs and charts his working life over the last four years for a highly interesting and informative read. Purchased from the Mission to Seafarers in London and Singaproe with 100% of proceeds going to the Mission. It can be bought by mtss.org.sg

Tomorrowland 2024

tomorrowland.com

Join one of the world’s biggest music festivals at Tomorrowland Winter, the sensational festival in a magical setting in Schorre Recreation Area, Boom in Belgium, surrounded by snow-covered mountain peaks at an altitude of over 2,000 meters. 25,000 people from all over the world meet to enjoy music from world-famous DJs, dance and to ski! What a fantastic combination and one not to be missed for those wanting to experience this most extraordinary winter event.

Nowhere

Cloud Gate

By Anish Kapoor Chicago, USA

As one of Chicago’s most popular attractions, Cloud Gate is a public artwork, inviting viewers into a new world! British artist, Anish Kapoor explains that the work is useless without the viewer. Her first public outdoor work, to be complete and function the viewer must engage with it so for this reason, Kapoor named it Cloud Gate. It mostly reflects the sky opening observers to a new world. Fabricated with over 100 tonnes, the stainless steel stands over 10 meters. Despite being officially called Cloud Gate, locals have affectionately nicknamed the sculpture The Bean. chicago.gov

Based on real life events, this dramatic movie tells the story of a young pregnant woman Mia, who escapes from a country torn by war by hiding in a maritime container aboard a cargo ship. After a violent storm, the container comes off the vessel and the young woman gives birth to the child. Lost at sea, her only mission is to survive… An intriguing yet harrowing account of survival against all odds.

Take yourself on a culinary journey of local and global flavours, from fine dining at the Michelin-starred Jin Xuan Chinese Restaurant to Shanghai’s highest and iconic rooftop bar Flair, where every dish is prepared to perfection and enhanced by panoramic city views. As Shanghai’s highest iconic rooftop venue on the 58th floor, Flair is located right in the centre of Lujiazui. With a spectacular view of the Oriental Pearl Tower, it is the perfect spot for viewing the stunning scenery of the city skyline. Dress code is smart casual, for reservations call +86 21 2020 1717

Albert Pinto

Original screenplay by Indiana Lista

Lifestyle

with civility and decency flying out the window? Summer 2023 was marked by something of a holiday-derangement syndrome, with cities vociferously railing against tourists, and bemoaning the decline in the quality of peoples’ lives due to overtourism.

Overtourism - is it destroying the places that we love?

By Margie Collins

In his play ‘No Exit’ the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre wrote: “Hell is – other people.” His three main characters arrive at a place, to be locked for all eternity in each other’s unbearable company.

Over 300 million travellers visited the Med this summer – the single largest flow of tourists on the globe: during the first post-Covid bumper summer in three years; during the hottest July on record - with blistering temperatures and heatwaves blanketing Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France. With wildfires ravaging large areas of forests and vineyards; torrential rains flooding cities and campsites and leaving shocked tourists stranded far from immediate help.

In the Alps many glaciers have melted revealing the remains

of ski tourists who had gone missing decades ago. “The era of global boiling has arrived,” said UN secretarygeneral Antonio Guterres. Is this the end for the world’s number-one summer playground? Are cooler northern countries – Alpine, Scandinavia, Benelux –about to become the new Mediterranean?

Is it the narcotising torpor of heat from a searing sun, untempered alcohol consumption, the swarming crowds that make tourists lose all inhibition

Amsterdam launched “Stay away”: a discouragement campaign targeting drunk and drugged “nuisance tourists interested only in sex and drugs”, and who arrive “like a locust plague,” said Dutch politician Ilana Rooderkerk. “The local economy hardly benefits from their flash visit.” The Normandy tourist board, struggling with le surtourisme, pleaded sternly with unmanageable queues of tourists at the 10th century abbey and village of Mont St Michel with the campaign: “Don’t come. Delay your visit. We’re full.”

France is the most-visited country in the world, but tourists mostly troop only to Paris, Provence, the French Riviera and Normandy. “France is full of magnificent places well known to locals but not to foreigners,” exhorted Olivia Gregoire, Tourism Minister. “It is not just the Normandy cliffs at Etretat, the Notre Dame in Paris or the Calanques in Marseille.” There are 195 countries in the world, yet only 20 of the top destinations account for two-thirds of tourist arrivals. Croatia has been blighted by unedifying pub crawls, late-night hard-partying and the anti-social behaviour of inebriated tourists who, Croatians say, have no regard for the country they visit. Its plea to holidaymakers: “Respect the city.” Greeks’ “Reclaim the beaches” campaign was prompted by angry locals banding together to remove beach umbrellas and sunbeds they said had been illegally pitched by tourists on their seaside resorts.

Anti-tourism activists in Spain and the Balearics have been targeting beaches, hotels, bars and restaurants with their “Tourism kills” protests, warning tourists of landslides, jellyfish and sewage released into popular resorts. Authorities in Barcelona – the number-one tourist destination – have removed thousands of hotel beds and forbade the opening of new hotels as the city continues to wage its war against tourists and Airbnbs that have priced locals out of their homes and hollowed out historic city centres.

In an interview Malcolm Bell, ceo of ‘Visit Cornwall’, let loose a zinger, describing the pent-up feelings of locals against the “deluge of tourists” making them very unhappy and Cornwall unliveable. “Visitors fall into five unofficial categories,” he said. “At one level you have friends, then you have guests, then you have tourists, then you have bloody tourists, then you have effing emmets [Cornish word for visiting tourist ‘ants’}. We should prevent overtourism and target the right people.”

Harassed members of Joves Naturistes, the Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia, staged several demonstrations, appealing to swimsuit-wearing tourists to show respect and

stay away from their beaches. “Most naturists prefer to practise it in secluded areas. These areas are being invaded by tourists who not only wear swimsuits but also have a very disrespectful (voyeuristic) attitude to nudists. We feel displaced in our own space,” Ivan Vera told The Guardian. Some 50 bays in Catalonia have been impacted.

UNESCO has threatened to blacklist Venice from its list of Endangered World Heritage Sites for failing to protect the city from masses of visitors and tourists committing malice in wonderland. With exhibitions of bare flesh becoming a constant of modern life, tourists in Sorrento have been warned not to walk around in beachwear (what the mayor calls “widespread indecorous behaviour damaging the town’s image”) or they will be fined 500 euros. In beautiful Portofino, tourists taking selfies against the town’s scenic harbour that result in traffic jams receive a fine of 275 euros.

The don’ts, fines, penalties, taxes and jujus are piling up against holidaymakers. If it is not yet a war against them, it will soon be. Tourists to Bhutan must pay the daily $200pp ‘sustainable development fee’. Two Canadian tourists returned fragments they pilfered from Pompeii with letters of apology to authorities saying bad luck and ill health had followed them home, seeking forgiveness from the dead of the 79AD eruption. Tourists found stealing the famous pink sand and pebbles from Sardinian beaches are fined 500 euros. British geologist Jim Fitton was sentenced to 15 years in an Iraqi jail (later overturned) after he was convicted of smuggling antique stones and pottery shards (he said were “souvenirs”) during a visit to the archaeological site of Eridu. Roman authorities are very unforgiving with tourists who dive into, or take water from their fountains, or deface the monuments they hold in sacerdotal reverence. Punishment could include fines of up to 15,000 euros or a maximum jail sentence of five years. Ivan Dimitrov, 17, a personal trainer from Bristol, was ignorant of these when he carved his and his girlfriend’s names into the Colosseum’s brickwork.

A 22-year-old German tourist faced hefty fines after damaging the 16th century Fountain of Neptune in Florence, knocking marble off the sea god’s chariot.

“I consider vandalising one of the most celebrated monuments in the world to be extremely serious and a sign of great incivility,” harrumphed Gennaro Sangiuliano, culture minister. In Copenhagen an American tourist climbed and cuddled the Little Mermaid statue before she was apprehended.

There is a long queue to get up to Everest, with mountain climbing now attended by a huge retinue of sherpas and logistical support. Nepal has increased the cost of a climbing permit to $15,000 which - it is hoped - will also cover the costs of removing dead bodies and clearing tonnes of rubbish

left behind. Holidaymakers who want to dine alone in some of Spain’s popular restaurants are directed to tables near lavatories or fobbed off with incredible excuses. Pricegouging is turning into an art form. Some Italian restaurants had charged diners 2 euros for an additional plate, 2 euros to cut a sandwich, 1.5 euros for an extra spoon and 20 euros to slice a birthday cake. These had been justified by restaurant owners as “extra work” for staff.

When in St Tropez, make sure you tip generously. Nice Matin reported that a wealthy Italian man was chased down a restaurant car park by a waiter who was incandescent with rage because he had been left a 500-euro tip (10% of the bill) instead of the “customary 20%”. Some Cote d’Azur restaurants now routinely check customers’ profiles against a database, Facebook and social media and choosing only those they would happily let into their establishments.

Travel and tourism have irreversibly shrunk the globe. Budget travellers and gap-year backpackers have discovered the roads that were once less travelled but which are now groaning under the overwhelming weight of overtourism. An increasing number of countries are imposing tourism taxes, limiting the number of tourists who can come in, excluding budget travellers, and targeting income brackets with the intention of scaling up to the luxury travel market.

The HBO hit ‘The White Lotus’ has engendered a huge appetite for extravagant stays in ultra-luxurious resorts and hotels that larcenously charge tens of thousands of pounds - for an overnight stay. Travel operators and elite concierge that cater for only the super-rich are having the busiest time – booking private jets and yachts, fully-staffed palazzi, country estates and private islands, and organising bespoke experiences that only very big money can buy.

“Ubervilla – is a new way for the super-rich to holiday because ultra-luxurious five-star resorts are so last year,” wrote Lucy Perrin, The Times’ travel-content editor.

Meanwhile, air cruises transport megabucks holidaymakers around the world by luxuriously appointed private jets. For travellers whose extravagance knows no bounds and who want to be peeled off their comfort zones for extraordinary experiences, imagine James Bond cosplays in Monte Carlo, espionage, hand-to-hand combat in hostile environments curated by film producers and stunt

artists. And why not? As Lagerfeld said: “I hate rich people who live below their means.”

These are money-raking days for the travel and hospitality industries – and yet geopolitical problems (and wars), and climate extremes loom large in the horizon.

Ryanair boss Michael O’ Leary was in Brussels recently to hand in a petition to the European Commission for flights over Europe to have better protection from air-traffic controllers’ strikes. He was pelted with cream pies by two women irate over the pollution by planes – despite the irony of his airline, alongside EasyJet, Wizz and all the other budget firms, having helped to turn flying from the preserve of the well-off to something accessible to almost anyone.

The pie-throwers’ wish might yet come true. A recent Bloomberg report, headlined ‘No more cheap flights is the new reality for air travel’, cites that ‘climate-compliance laws aimed at decarbonising air travel are tightening across Europe and will soon push up prices beyond the reach of working-class people.’ No longer a lonely – more an angry – planet.

Nat Read, 84, has visited the North and South Poles, the seven continents and all 50 American states. He had been almost everywhere on the map of Amtrak, the USA’s national passenger-railroad company, so this year he decided to finish the map. “You can step from today and tomorrow to yesterday,” he said. We are thrill-seekers, adventurers and romantics venturing into the familiar as well as the unknown. We travel to escape the mubble-fubbles of life, the suffocating company of hordes of strangers, and to see what a tiny speck of the vast world we occupy

The soul has needs – perhaps specially during this age of surfeit and anxiety. Thirteen cloistered Benedictine nuns who defied a Vatican order to transfer their mother superior to another nunnery after they had been accused by the Holy See of spending too much time online and not enough time in prayer, opened the doors of their Maria Tempio dello Spirito Santo convent in the sylvan hills of Tuscany to travellers who “want to pray and discover a sense of their selves.” St Augustine Abbey in the verdant countryside of Chilworth, Surrey, has four modest single bedrooms for travellers who want to live – if briefly – like a monk, and to pray in immersive calm. Like a stopped clock. Travel is seldom so contemplative. l