12
Apr 21

Member Update

In the last 12 months we have seen dramatic changes across our industry and the whole of society. The shipping and maritime sector has shown a huge amount of resilience and determination to get through the biggest crisis in a generation.

In the last 12 months we have seen dramatic changes across our industry and the whole of society. The shipping and maritime sector has shown a huge amount of resilience and determination to get through the biggest crisis in a generation.

Since March 2020 we have had a huge range of policy wins. We secured financial support for our ferry operators, so we could keep vital goods flowing into the country. We also developed new cruise framework documents which have been recognised by the UN as best practice and we lobbied the government to recognise seafarers as key workers and secured a global summit in London last summer on the crew change crisis. Most recently we lobbied the UK government to remove the requirement that seafarers travelling to England from Red List countries to self-isolate for ten days on arrival.

I was delighted to see from our Annual Members’ Survey that 76% of our members scored our Covid-19 pandemic support an 8-10 out of 10 and 87% gave the same scores for recommending Chamber membership.

Our focus has of course been on Covid-19 and the support we can offer our members, but we have also continued to focus on environmental challenges and issues around our new trading relationship with our European partners. 

Our 2021 Journal is now available and it looks back at what was one of the most challenging years many of us have faced and what the Chamber has achieved in great detail, but also our plans for the future and the priorities for the organisation in the months and years ahead: https://ukcosjournal.com/ 

Looking ahead

The Chamber’s main strategy output is decarbonisation where we are focussed on the international agenda regarding short term regulatory measures and the more medium to longer term market based measures. We are engaged on carbon taxonomy and emission trading systems with the EU through ECSA and the UK Government.

The Chamber retains the co-chair of the Security and Defence Advisory Working Group (SDAC) which influences HMG strategy in countering terrorism nationally and piracy/armed robbery internationally especially in West Africa.

Our other main strategic theme is safety through the Chamber’s Safety Culture Working Group which aims to share best practice and improve the industry’s safety performance.

Whilst the pandemic has absorbed considerable resource in supporting sector recovery and crew changes, the Government’s future international trading strategy and the post-BREXIT border operating systems remain at the forefront of the Chamber’s work.

Events

In our last membership survey, nearly 65% of members stressed Chamber-led events are a key benefit of Chamber membership. Organising events at the Chamber of Shipping over the last few months has certainly provided us with some challenges, but with challenges comes opportunity.

In February we held our first ever Virtual Conference. As we have all become more used to our new reality, we knew we couldn’t put on our usual Annual Dinner, so we wanted to try and create something new, something challenging but most importantly something of value to our members, sponsors and the wider shipping community.

I was delighted we had more than 550 delegates from more than 30 countries demonstrating the global interest in the debates we put on. The event was a huge success and we are now looking ahead to see how we can continue providing members with our regular webinars as well as bringing back face-to-face meetings when restrictions allow.

Mental health and wellbeing is an issue everyone across the shipping and maritime sector must focus on and I was delighted that we recently launched the National Maritime Occupational Health and Safety publication "Practical guidelines to shipping companies on improving mental wellbeing" during a Chamber webinar which was incredibly well attended.

We have a range of events coming up in the next few months and if you would like to discuss future opportunities please do get in touch with Tony Jerome our Head of Membership and Business Development.

Engagement

Please remember to use our experienced Policy Team who are here to help you. Here is a reminder of their names and contact email addresses:

Signing Up to Chamber Communications

Please also, encourage your staff to sign-up to the Chamber communications.

Those sharing the same domain in their email address can benefit from receiving a summary of the day’s industry news, regulatory updates, industry consultations, minutes from Committee meetings, and other circulars.

The more that members of your staff access this important information, the more value your business will receive from its Chamber membership. All you need to do is forward them the list below and ask them to email tjerome@ukchamberofshipping.com with the numbers next to the Communications they would like to receive:

1 Bulletin: A weekly round-up of news from the UK Chamber
2 Daily Briefing: All the sector news straight into your inbox
3 Event Updates

Committee circulars:

4 Defence and Security Committee
5 Documentary sub-committee
6 Employment Committee
7 Ferry & Cruise Panel
8 Harbour Towage Panel
9 Health & Safety Sub-Committee
10 Legal Insurance & Documentary Committee
11 Offshore Panel
12 Safety & Environment Committee
13 Short Sea Shipping Panel
14 Taxation and Economics Committee         

Thank you once again for your support and working with the Chamber to make a difference to our industry. I look forward to working with you in the near future.