Yesterday, the Minster for Brexit Opportunities announced a postponement of the next stage of post-Brexit custom controls, scheduled for 1 July. The Chamber wrote to the Minister in February encouraging such action and therefore we very much welcome the announcement. This is a pragmatic decision which maintains the current fluidity of trade. While we encourage Government to work with industry to avoid any risk of existing investments preparing for 1 July going to waste, it is now vital we move quickly towards a long-term solution for administering trade. It is positive to hear Government interest in resetting industry engagement to develop ambitious digital solutions. The Chamber is supportive of this, but we also encourage a concerted effort to negotiate the removal of many such custom requirements with the EU through the Trade Specialised Committees established under the Trade Cooperation Agreement. The progress being made is good news for shipowners and for the UK’s economic growth, and the Chamber remains ready to continue supporting efforts in reducing the costs of trade.  

On the subject of trade, Robert Merrylees represented the Chamber at the US-UK Trade Dialogue in Aberdeen on Monday. This was an excellent opportunity to consider the Chamber’s trade policy priorities alongside of that of wider industry interest and some useful synergies were identified. The Chamber looks forward to working with the Department for International Trade over the coming weeks to develop an ambitious roadmap with economically meaningful outcomes to harness the benefits of trade, improve supply chain resilience and supporting environment and climate action on shipping to and from the USA.  

The Chancellor announced in his autumn statement that HM Treasury would work towards the inclusion of third party ship managers in UK Tonnage Tax. Members who wish to participate in this work or who can provide case histories are invited to contact Gavin Simmonds.

Events

The next event will be British Tugowners Association's Conference and Dinner on Wednesday 11 May, in Hampshire.  The Conference will be horizon scanning the future of towage and port ecosystem and is very pleased to welcome the Maritime Minister Robert Courts MP, and the MCA's CEO Brian Johnson as speakers, along with the UK Chamber's President Graham Westgarth. The Conference and Dinner provide an ideal time for delegates to meet, exchange ideas and network. Registration for all is available here.

Our Annual Summer Lunch, kindly 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 our new 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. 

To celebrate the conclusion of the CMDC Innovate UK KTN alongside Innovate UK and the Department for Transport are hosting a "CMDC Final Showcase" event in Portsmouth International Port on the 24th May. The event brings together all 55 projects in an exhibition style event to showcase the fantastic work conducted by the projects over the last 7 months and the plethora of clean maritime technologies the UK has to offer. Registration details can be found here. 

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 weekend

Sarah