London International Shipping Week was incredibly successful for the Chamber and we hosted one of the events of the week when we organised for both the Chancellor and the Transport Secretary to attend the official launch of Thames Freeport at a stellar event at the Savoy Hotel. As part of the week the Chamber announced in a landmark decision, that the UK shipping industry has agreed that the international shipping sector must pursue a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050.

International regulations require the global shipping industry to cut their emissions by 50% compared to 2008 levels. But the UK Chamber of Shipping has now confirmed it wants the International Maritime Organisation to double this target and commit to net-zero emissions by 2050.

At the UK Chamber of Shipping we want to be at the forefront of the green agenda and now is the time to call for radical action. The aim of cutting shipping’s emissions by 50% just doesn’t go far enough. We need to show the world we mean business and it is imperative that the IMO commits to a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050.

A huge amount of work from everyone at the Chamber went into LISW. We hosted a wonderful event on the Monday evening at the IMO for the launch of our TV Programme Making Waves: The future of Shipping. We had more than 200 attend the launch event and we were delighted so many of our members participated in the film and the event.

We also hosted a fascinating debate on the future of global trade with the ICS Secretary General Guy Platten and Andrew Mitchell, Director General at the Department for International Trade. The event can be viewed here. And on the Thursday there was an incredibly well attended Voyage to Decarbonisation event at the Chamber. We were delighted to have the Shipping Minister Robert Courts provide the keynote speech on such an important subject and you can watch the session back here.

Everyone at the Chamber of Shipping is aware of the critical importance of not just safety, but of a safety culture, of doing the right things, in the correct way even when no one is watching. Next week we will host our two-day Safety Culture Conference sponsored by Bureau Veritas. The conference will have a range of high-profile speakers, including Dr Grahaeme Henderson OBE, Mike Bradshaw, Hazel Lewis and our Vice President Graham Westgarth. To see the full line up of speakers and to book your ticket please head to our website.