At the start of the week we saw the closure of all international travel corridors and all passengers entering the UK must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed entry. Ahead of the new rules coming into force, the Chamber worked hard and secured an exemption for seafarers from requiring to have a negative Covid-19 test when travelling to UK. If any members have questions about the policy please do reach out to the team here at the Chamber.

This week I joined colleagues from across the industry at the Maritime UK National Council. It was great to hear from the new Chair, Sarah Kenny, about the future plans of MUK and I look forward to working closely with her as we continue to promote the great work of the shipping and maritime industry.

It is just under three weeks until our first ever Virtual Conference. Replacing our Annual Dinner, the conference will see industry leaders come together for a day of high-level discussions and debates about the short-to-mid-term challenges and opportunities facing our sector.

We are delighted to have some wonderful speakers, including Dr Grahaeme Henderson OBE, Nikolas Tsakos, Graham Westgarth, Stephen Gordon and many more with the day’s proceedings being overseen by Paddy Rodgers. And we are honoured that Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal will also be speaking.  We all know how close the shipping and maritime sector is to her. The amount of work she does supporting the Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and other seafarers and related charities across the UK is remarkable. If you haven’t booked your ticket yet there is still plenty of time. Tickets are free for members and you can book your ticket here, where you will also find a full programme for the day.

We also have some great sponsors supporting this event including our Gold Sponsors Denholm Shipping, Northern Marine, UK Ship Register, V.Group, Frazer-Nash and Lloyd’s Register. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities please reach out to Tony Jerome, our Head of Business Development.

Before that, next week we are hosting our Understanding UK Shipping course. It is always a great event and details on how to book your place are on our website.

We were delighted to announce this week another new member, with Ashley Shipping becoming the latest company to join the Chamber. In these tough times we as an industry are stronger together and I look forward to working with everyone from Ashley Shipping in the coming months.