Elsewhere, we have an urgent safety alert from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch concerning liferafts and a new sponsor for our Safety Culture Conference. This week we have also had a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet and ministerial teams and Shadow Maritime Minister Mike Kane MP has remained in post.

Finally, a reminder to visit the Chamber's website for an overview of our LISW events. 

What's new

Value of Shipping Report to be launched at LISW

On Monday the Chamber will launch The Value of Shipping: Delivering a Prosperous UK.

The report highlights the central role shipping plays in the prosperity of the UK with 61,000 jobs directly in the shipping sector and a further 585,000 jobs in the wider supply chain and economy. It also covers the sector's contribution to tourism, trade, offshore energy, maritime services and defence. 

The report will be available on the Chamber's website from early on Monday morning and is being launched during the opening of the Maritime UK Global Trade Hub.

We would love for members to get involved in promoting the report and have created a member toolkit to provide some suggested key messages.

This toolkit can be downloaded from the member area of our website.

Chamber members receive Merchant Navy Medal

The Department for Transport has unveiled the 2023 recipients of the Merchant Navy Medal.

This year three Chamber members received recognition: 

• Donnacha O’Driscoll, for services to seafarer welfare and cruise sector pandemic recovery
• Katy Womersley, for contributions to seafarers’ training and sector diversity
• Chief Petty Officer Martin Etwell, for services to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Congratulations to Donnacha, Katy and Martin as well as all the other recipients. The Chamber and MNTB also attended the Merchant Navy Commemorative Service on Sunday.

You can read more about the Merchant Navy Medal on .gov.uk.

Marine Accident Investigation Branch Safety Alert: Liferaft Servicing and Certification Concerns

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has contacted the UK Chamber of Shipping to share the initial findings of its investigation into the loss of the UK registered fishing vessel Piedras (FD 528). The investigation has raised serious concerns about the servicing and certification of the vessel’s liferafts.

All vessel owners and operators that have had DSB liferafts certified by the service station Comfer Marin SL during the period 1 January 2017 to 30 June 2022 are recommended to:

• Immediately contact their nearest approved Survitec liferaft service station to arrange for the liferafts to be urgently re-inspected and serviced to ensure they are fully functional and comply with statutory requirements.

More information is available on the Chamber's website.

Bureau Veritas to sponsor Safety Culture Conference

We are delighted to announce Bureau Veritas will be sponsoring the Safety Culture Conference. Commenting on their sponsorship Yannis Calogeras, Marine CEO at Bureau Veritas said:

“Bureau Veritas is delighted to be sponsoring the UK Chamber of Shipping Safety Conference this year. We have been supporting this key industry event for many years and look forward to hearing from more industry leaders, participating in the important discussions and networking with many friends and colleagues in early October.”

The theme for this year’s one and a half day conference will be “Establishing a Learning Culture”, with interactive presentations from experts inside and outside the maritime sector..

To buy your ticket please visit the Chamber website.

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. You can access all your resources through your member dashboard. Latest updates include: 

• MCA consultation: The COSWP review project 2023
• Member toolkit: Value of shipping report

If you haven't done so, don't forget to register for an account.

Upcoming Events

In-person: Safety Culture Conference

The event aims to build on the acclaimed 2022 conference in Liverpool, which focused on the role of top management in determining safety culture. The theme for this year’s two-day conference will be “Establishing a Learning Culture”, with interactive presentations from experts from inside and outside the maritime sector.

Join us in person on 3 and 4 October 2023 at the Harbour Hotel in Bristol.

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Autumn Lunch 2023

The Chamber has just launched its annual Autumn Lunch at the Harbour Hotel in Southampton. There will be an opportunity to ask our President Graham Westgarth questions during our Q&A, followed by a three courses lunch.

Click below to book your table or tickets.

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Introduction to Shipping Course

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

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.

Join us on Monday 25 September.

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Maritime Labour Convention

The Chamber will be hosting an online-only training course on Monday 30 October on the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC); how it has come to be the fourth pillar of international regulation for shipping, alongside SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW.

The course will be presented by Tim Springett and Hannah Gilbert of the Chamber.

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BTA Safety Seminar

The Annual Safety Seminar of the British Tugowners Association will take place on Thursday 16 November 2023 at Insurance Hall, London.

The Seminar will examine recent incidents, discuss accident prevention, and hear from tug experts, insurers and investigators. With an audience of tug masters, pilots, marine superintendents, P&I clubs, lawyers, workboat crew, harbour masters and others, the aim is to inform, discuss and share best practice.

The day will run from 0900-1600 with lunch and refreshments provided

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