The highlight of last week has been the British Tugowners Association's (BTA) Annual Conference and Dinner at Old Thorns Manor Hotel in Hampshire.  The BTA was honoured to welcome the Maritime Minister Robert Courts MP, and the MCA's CEO Brian Johnson as speakers, and the UK Chamber's President Graham Westgarth gave his first speech as the new President at the dinner. The conference focussed on future fuels, the industry’s technology needs and concluded on a positive collaborative endeavour from the Association to decarbonise.  We would like to thank the sponsors Sanmar A.Ş, Rolls-Royce MTU solutions and Boluda Towage.

The Dinner saw the awarding of the Tug Personality of the Year award, which was awarded to Alison Taylor from Svitzer, for her tireless work in developing training pathways for the tug and small vessel sector and championing maritime careers. Congratulations to Alison.  

A wide range of photos and videos were taken of the event, if you would like to view photos from the event click here.

Our Policy Director Anna Ziou

https://membership.ukchamberofshipping.com/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=11905&qid=360392

 attended the Ports and Freeports Development Conference on Wednesday and talked about shipping decarbonisation, the importance of green port infrastructure, the role of shore power, and policies that need to be agreed upon in the coming years to turn ambitions to action.

Policy

Last Tuesday, the Government outlined its legislative agenda in the Queen’s speech. The Chamber is in close engagement with DfT on the Harbours (Seafarers Remuneration) Bill and will be consulting members in the coming weeks to prepare the Chamber’s official submission. 

The Chamber welcomed the announcement of the Electronic Trade Documents Bill in which we have been engaged with HMRC and the International Chamber of Commerce. This bill is a significant first step to modernising the conduct of international trade and we are eager for the UK to continue to lead in encouraging the adoption of new technologies in this area.

This week the UK Chamber is attending the 12th session of the IMO’s  Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 12) as part of the UK delegation. The Chamber’s key asks from this meeting are the CII and EEXI guidelines and seeing progress in the IMO developing a basket of mid-term measures to help the industry decarbonise. The Carbon Working Group is a key enabler in driving the Chamber policy and held two very engaging meetings this week, one internal and one joint meeting with the DfT and the MCA, where the Chamber’s positions on domestic, EU and IMO proposals were presented.

Events

Queen's Platinum Jubilee: Ships Salute

We would like to invite all Ship Owners to take part in the Ships Salute as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. A Ships Salute is where every vessel in every UK Harbour sounds a simultaneous long blast on their horn or whistle at 12:00 BST on Saturday 4th June 2022. 

To celebrate the Queen’s service to the country and her particular affiliation with the maritime industry, we would like to see as many vessels as possible - Cruise Liner, Tanker, Dry Bulk Carrier, Containership, Aircraft Carrier, Destroyer, Frigate, Tug, Offshore Supply Vessel, Motorcruiser, Yacht, Narrowboat and Ferry – make this salute.

Every Royal Navy, Merchant Navy and recreational vessel regardless of size, class and category is invited to join the Ships Salute. Pre-registration is not required, but an indication of intent to join the salute will help with planning of media coverage.

If you would like to participate, please email Head of Membership, Tony Jerome.

Looking ahead, our Annual Summer Lunch, sponsored by V.Group and Witherby Publishing Group, will be returning to the Chamber’s Event Calendar on Tuesday 14th June. This will be held at the wonderful Mansfield Traquair in Edinburgh and will give everyone a great opportunity to network and hear from MSP Jenny Gilruth, Minister for Transport Scotland and our President Graham Westgarth. We already have more than 130 guests attending. If you would like to join them, then you can book your tickets here. For any sponsorship packages, please contact Tony Jerome for details.

Join the Chamber Team as a Policy Advisor

Finally, the Chamber is looking to recruit a new Policy Advisor to assist the Safety and Environment team and respective Committees in developing and presenting Chamber policy relating to maritime safety and environmental issues. Find out more about this exciting position please click here.

Have a good week.

Peter