INTERCARGO re-iteratedits commitment to a safe, efficient, high quality and environmentally sound dry bulk shipping industryat its semi-annual meetingswhich were held last week. The Executive Committee and  the  Technical  Committee  convened  over  two  days  via  videoconference,  and  the meetings  were presided over by Chairman Dimitris Fafalios, Vice Chairman SpyrosTarasis, Vice Chairman Uttam Kumar Jaiswal, and Technical Committee Chairman Tom Keenan.

The  agenda  focused  on the  need  to urgently resolvethehumanitarian  crisis faced  by  seafarers  under COVID-19and other  associated  crewing  issues; DryBMS asa  quality  standard  for  the  dry  bulk  sector; initiatives for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;the safe carriage of cargoes;bulk carrier design standards; the investigation of bulk carrier casualties;ballast water management; implications ofthe sulphur limiton fuels; and piracy threats.

Key outcomes of the meetingswere:

Crew  changes  and  vaccinations: Top  of  the  agenda  was  the continued  lack  of  universal  recognition  of seafarers as key workers. Despite the industry’s efforts,and the active support ofINTERCARGO, seafarers continue to be overlooked by world governments, facing a lack of both access to medical services and an efficient and prioritised worldwide vaccination programme.

Dimitris  Fafalios,  INTERCARGO  Chairman,  reiterated:  “While   the   UN   IMO   and   global maritime organisations’ efforts mustpermeate  every  area  of  the  shipping  industry,  urgent  action  outside  the maritime  sphere  is  needed  by  government  leadersat  the  highest  level. Universal commitments  forcollective  action are  imperative  toresolve  the seafarers’humanitarian crisis  and  to  keepglobal  trade moving. Coordinating a worldwide vaccination programme for seafarersis an urgent priority.”

DryBMS –a  quality  standard  for  the  dry  bulk  sector:TheAssociationreviewed  the  progress  of  the scheme, following the public consultation which was launched earlier thisyear. A historicmilestone for the  dry  bulk  sector, INTERCARGO  and  RightShip  are founding  partners  of DryBMS,  under  which  safety, environmental and operational excellence are promoted through company self-assessment.

GHG: INTERCARGO discussed its active engagement in the IMO deliberations regarding the finalisation of short-term  measures,  comprising  the Energy  Efficiency  Existing  Ship  Index (EEXI) and  Carbon  Intensity Indicators’frameworks. Following aninitial  version, INTERCARGO has also co-sponsored,the  updated proposalfor  the $5 billion R&Dindustry  programme to  catalyse  the  vital  research  and  development needed to help shipping meet the UN decarbonisation goals.

In the context of measures designated asmedium-termones, INTERCARGO has been since long a leading proponent  within  industry organisations  of  the  reopening  of  the Market  Based Measures  discussion  at IMO, and affirmed it will maintain a leadership role for its membershipand the dry bulk sector.

Quality & operational excellence of INTERCARGO membership:The Associationshared with its membersitslatest  annual  Benchmarking  Report  for  dry  bulk  carriers,  which again demonstrated  that  vessels registered  with INTERCARGO continue  to  significantly  outperform  industry  averages  in  respect  of both detentions and deficiencies per inspection.

Membership of INTERCARGO is widely recognised by the shipping industry as a marker of excellence, and thisexceptional recordisa testament to the quality of the Association’s membership, which continues atthe historic high levelsof 2020, a doubling since 2017.

As the current circumstances have allowedvirtual hostingonly,with social/networking events postponed until more opportune times, the Association has created , a special electronic compilation of promotional materialfrom  our  Members,  which is  available  on  a  dedicated  webpage here and  which  will be continually updated with further contributions.

The Associationwill hold its next semi-annual meetings in October2021. Aface-to-face event is planned to  run  alongside  these meetings, in  celebration  of  its  40  yearanniversary(1980-2020),  following  the virtual celebration earlier this year,and complementing thepreviously publishedanniversary publication “INTERCARGO –The First 40 Years”(please refer here).

Source www.intercargo.org