Earlier this week, I along with the Chamber's Director of Policy Peter Aylott and the Director of Communications Tom Bartošák-Harlow have attended a reception for the launch of the London International Shipping Week that will be taking place later in the year. This was a good opportunity to network with professionals from various world's maritime industries.

The Chamber has also been very busy working on the Seafarers' Wages Bill briefing as well as giving evidence on the Electronic Trade Documents Bill in Parliament, you can read more below.

What's new

Seafarers' Wages Bill   

The latest debate on the Seafarers’ Wages Bill took place earlier this week. This stage was an opportunity for amendments to the Bill to be proposed and included a proposal, supported by the Labour and Scottish National Parties, to reduce the threshold at which a service is in scope from 120 to 52.

The Chamber provided members of the Committee with a briefing that set out why 120 calls was an appropriate threshold and would ensure that major international passenger ferry routes were in scope. The briefing also addressed concerns by showing that it was unfeasible for operators to port hop to avoid falling within scope. Following the debate, the proposed amendment to reduce the threshold was withdrawn and does not form part of the Bill, meaning 120 calls remains the threshold.

You can read or watch the debate below:

Written record of debate – session 1
Written record of debate – session 2
Watch the debate – session 1
Watch the debate – session 2

The Bill will have one further substantive debate in the House of Commons in the coming weeks. The Chamber will continue to monitor the Bill and seek to ensure that the scope of the Bill remains at 120 calls. 

Electronic Trade Documents Bill 

Yesterday, our Policy Advisor Hannah Gilbert gave oral evidence on the Electronic Trade Documents Bill, in Parliament. The Bill will enable electronic trade documents to have the same legal recognition and functionality as paper documents.

Questions centered around both the practicality and international operability of the Bill. As we hope that the Bill will be passed during second quarter of 2023, we'll continue to monitor its progress and invite members to send any additional comments to Hannah Gilbert and Matthew Wright .

You can watch the debate (from 09:23).

The Bill will also form part of the discussion at the upcoming Legal, Insurance & Documentary Committee meeting on 2 February. 

Witherbys to sponsor the Annual Dinner Programme 

Witherbys Publishing Group will sponsor this year’s Annual Dinner programme. Witherbys supports numerous Chamber's events and we are immensely grateful for their continued contribution.

Ticket sales for the Annual Dinner have now closed and we are looking forward to welcoming more than 750 guests on Monday 6 February.

If you still haven't confirmed your table names with our Events Manager Jo McGhee, please do it by 5pm today. This will ensure that your name appears in the Dinner’s programme and on the printed table plans.

Members Survey (Final Call)

Thank you to all members who have kindly completed this year’s Members Survey. The deadline for entries is today.

We are particularly interested in hearing more from our professional and associate members to help us obtain more data.

The survey should not take longer than 5 minutes and therefore we kindly ask you to complete our Members Survey. 

Mobilising Investment for Decarbonising UK Freight Transport

The Decarbonising UK Freight Transport network presents their final event which sees participants supporting the creation of sector roadmaps and providing ideas to help decarbonise the fright transport sector.

The event is divided in 4 sessions, all highly interactive, aimed at generating discussions and brainstorm activities.

The Mobilising Investment for Decarbonising UK Freight Transport event will take place at the Southampton Harbour Hotel on 9 February. You can read more and also book your tickets on their event page.

Latest member updates

Chamber members are reminded that they have exclusive access to a range of updates from the Chamber’s policy experts on a wide spectrum of issues. The latest updates this week include:

• IMO Ship Design & Construction (SDC 9) - ICS Brief

Upcoming Events

Annual Dinner 2023 (bookings have now closed)

The dinner is kindly sponsored by Northern Marine (Gold Sponsor), V. Group (President's Reception), Denholm, UK Ship Register, Lloyd’s Register, ABS and Seapeak (Silver Sponsors).

Book your tickets.

Introduction to Shipping Course (Book by 24 January)  

The Chamber’s Introduction to UK Shipping online course is an engaging snapshot which will give participants an understanding of how the UK shipping industry operates, the regulations, constraints and current issues.

Taking place on 26 January, participants will learn from a variety of subject matter experts on regulatory, business, political, legal, employment and training in the shipping industry. The course will be up to date with sessions on current issues.

Book your tickets.

Harbour Towage Panel

The Panel will take place on 6 February 2023, at the International Chamber of Shipping and its purpose is to identify issues and develop policies relating to harbour towage operations.

All members with an interest in harbour towage and related matters, including tug operators, class societies, law firms, P&I clubs, port authorities, marine consultants and others are encouraged to attend.

Members are invited to raise any areas for inclusion with the Panel Secretary, Robert Merrylees.

Safety & Environment Committee Panel 

This members-only Committee discusses a wide range of environmental and safety-related matters, including decarbonisation, BWMC, underwater noise, marine plastic litter, ship recycling, safety culture, vehicle deck safety, offshore renewables, navigation and fuel safety.

Members are invited to suggest specific areas for inclusion on the Agenda. 

This will be a hybrid meeting held at the International Chamber of Shipping offices in London. 

If you would like more information, please contact Elise Nyborg.

UKCOS & BPA Shore Power Workshop (Book by 1 February)

Join the UK Chamber of Shipping & British Ports Association on 8 February to discuss the proposed introduction of shore power in the UK. Participants will have the opportunity to contribute towards a joint position paper.

As the UK government looks to develop shore power as a clean energy solution for shipping, this workshop will bring together experts from across the shipping and port sector to explore the potential benefits and challenges of its adoption. Through a series of interactive discussions, we will delve into considerations surrounding infrastructural capacity, funding, and sector-specific requirements to consider how shore power might be deployed in practice to best support the transition to a low-carbon maritime industry.

Register your place. 

Summer Lunch

Our summer lunch is set to take place on Tuesday 13 June 2023, in a brand new venue, the Signet Library, in Edinburgh. More information will be available on our event page. In the meantime, please save the date.