Welcome to the latest Chamber Bulletin, to anyone who isn’t on holiday!

In another eventful week, the mighty Lionesses roared to victory in the Euros, warnings of recession later this year from the Bank of England, and the first Ukrainian grain ship safely reached Turkish waters on Tuesday (hailed as a “relief to the world” by one Ukrainian official). See below update from our Policy team.

In the past few days, heightened military activity and tension between China and the US following Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan may cause further shipping issues, with almost half of the global container fleet, and 88% of the world’s largest ships by tonnage, passing through the Taiwan Straight this year, according to Bloomberg data.

The Chamber continues to monitor the Ukraine and Taiwan situations closely, and will provide advice and updates to members when possible.

Onto our Bulletin updates for this week:

Back in person: annual Safety Culture Conference (20-21 September 2022)

We are delighted to announce the return of the in-person Safety Culture Conference, sponsored by Bureau Veritas, on 20th & 21st September.

Following the success of the previous annual Safety Culture Seminars / Conferences in 2017, 2018, 2019, a CEOs’ Forum in 2020 and the virtual event in 2021, this year’s conference will take place over a day and a half at the Hope Street Hotel, Liverpool.

The Conference will provide an opportunity for around 100 industry representatives to hear from expert speakers, share good practices and promote effective safety cultures for all.

Delegates will be invited to discuss the challenges they face in developing safety culture within their organisations, the successes they have achieved and the next steps they are looking to take.

For more information on the conference, and a top-line look at speakers and topics, please visit our website here.

Northern Marine sponsor 2023 Annual Dinner

We are pleased to confirm that Northern Marine will be the Gold Sponsor for our 2023 Annual Dinner taking place on 6 February. Our annual dinner remains the best place to meet with industry peers to celebrate UK Shipping and the Chamber will be sharing more details with you in the coming weeks about how you can secure your place.

If you are interested in sponsoring the annual dinner, or another Chamber event, please contact the Chamber’s Head of Membership and Business Development Tony Jerome.

Careers at Sea Ambassador programme

Promoting Careers at Sea is fundamental to attracting talent into our industry. To ensure the sustainability of our message, the Careers at Sea Ambassador programme will be transferring over to the Maritime UK Inspiring the Future platform, as of 1st September.

We recognise that the impact we make collectively is far greater through collaboration, sending one clear message – a career in maritime and at sea is for everyone.

A special thank you to all Ambassadors for their continued efforts. Your outreach into communities, virtual sessions, time and energy is deeply appreciated.

Careers at Sea are still here, modernising the way we work to guarantee that the promotion of a life at sea can continue long into the future. We warmly encourage all of those in the current Careers at Sea programme, and anyone you feel would be interested, to sign up to a new profile through the Inspiring the Future website via this link.

Please email enquiry@careersatsea.org if you require support.

Ukraine grain corridor update

This week the Razoni, a Sierra-Leona flagged ship heading to Lebanon from the port of Odesa, has been cleared by officials of the Joint Co-ordination Centre to leave Turkish waters. This is the first ship carrying grain to leave the port of Odesa through the mined waters that surround the area since the blockade started in February.

Whilst the clearing of the ports will not be without its challenges, and the corridors are currently restricted to use by vessels carrying grain, it is encouraging that the first vessel has been given the all-clear for the sake of seafarers onboard ships trapped in the ports.

Last Friday, the Lloyd’s of London insurer Ascot, and the broker Marsh, also announced a $50 million Marine Cargo and War facility, which is to provide insurance coverage for grain and food products being taken through the new grain corridors.

Although not a new policy as such, but a reflection of sufficient capacity within the market to offer coverage, the Chamber will be keeping a keen eye on the insurance market to keep members informed of further developments.

Chamber recruitment – digital communications

Finally, a reminder that we are continuing our search for a Digital Communications Manager to lead on our content across the Chamber’s social media channels and website. If you are interested in applying, or know someone who may be the right fit, please get in touch with Oscar Cabrera at our specialist communications recruitment agency Ellwood Atfield.

 
Have a nice weekend,
Sarah