Supply chain issues

It has been another busy week for our industry. Much of the media narrative this week has been on the global supply chain issues and what the knock-on effects will be for the public here in the UK. At the Chamber we have been very clear that there is no shipping crisis. What we are seeing though is backlogs in major ports around the world, not just here in the UK. Global supply chains have been severely disrupted by Covid due to unprecedented changes to demand and safe working practices. The situation has been exacerbated by the shortage of HGV drivers to move goods and the pressure on warehousing capacity.

Shipping companies have been fast to react with innovative solutions to these issues in an effort to keep the economy moving. We were on the BBC, Sky News, LBC and TalkRadio explaining the role of shipping and what the industry is doing to keep world trade moving. We know this issue won’t end soon and if members do need our support, please contact our Policy Director Gavin Simmonds.

Global Maritime Forum

We are just over two weeks away from COP26 and I am delighted that the Chamber has become a signatory to the Global Maritime Forum’s Call to Action for Shipping Decarbonisation.

 The Call to Action was formally launched in September in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly, but will be re-launched with the additional signatories in October. The Call to Action will be delivered to the UK COP26 Presidency, one week before leaders meet in Glasgow to demand better co-ordinated global action on emissions. If members are interested in becoming signatories, please speak to Anna Ziou.

BTA conference

This week in Northumberland the British Tugowners Association held their annual conference. It was an incredibly well attended event with the Shipping Minister Robert Courts delivering the keynote address. The theme of the conference was decarbonising the towage sector and I understand there were excellent presentations and discussions about the role the towage sector can play as a test bed for new technologies across the maritime sector. A huge thank you to Damen for sponsoring the conference.

MBM webinar

On the theme of tackling emissions, on Monday we will be holding our member only webinar on Market Based Measures. We all know that climate change is the greatest threat we face. The shipping industry is acutely aware of the importance of reducing its emissions and at the Chamber, we will be using this meeting to explore the options for Market-Based Measures. This webinar will be an important step in formulating an informed, member-led position on the Chamber’s preferred MBM option. Our President John Denholm will be opening the event and Tore Longva from DNV will give a presentation on different MBM options. Members are encouraged to register here.