Where we stand

Thomas Timlen Asia liason officer, BIMCO tt@bimco.org

On Second Thought…

   With the U.S. presidential campaign under way, we see candidates face the usual questions, yet it’s not always easy to get clear answers that would indicate their plans or priorities once elected.
   Global shipping has far more organizations and associations acting as industry advocates than the GOP has presidential candidates. There are hundreds of national associations, dozens of international associations, and equal numbers of sector-specific associations.
   The most active international associations are accredited with the United Nations and can participate in debates held at the International Maritime Organization, where regulations are proposed, developed and adopted. Some associations are in regular dialogue with regulators at national and regional levels; while others limit their activities to single annual conferences.
   American Shipper readers are well aware of the many issues creating challenges for ocean carriers. It may be less obvious where the respective industry associations stand on these issues.
   Unlike a politician adept at maintaining ambiguity, BIMCO has over the years sought to develop, maintain and deliver focused and clear positions on maritime issues when in dialogue with regulators at national, regional and international levels.
   As an advocate of practical solutions for challenges facing the industry, the association strives to establish and maintain a constructive, consistent dialogue. Applying these principles, BIMCO has achieved a high degree of trust among regulators.
   Sadly the public’s perception of the shipping industry is jaded by media coverage of oil spills, incarcerated seafarers and pirate attacks. None of this coverage serves to encourage young people to pursue a career at sea, nor does it garner any popular support for the industry among elected officials.
   BIMCO has realized for some time the industry needs to do more to reach the public, and in turn those whom the public elects into office. As the news media is the public’s main source of information on the shipping industry, BIMCO saw an opportunity to improve the quality of information reported. Mistakes obvious to those in the know have regularly appeared in the news, reflecting that journalists lacked a basic understanding of ocean shipping.
   BIMCO’s solution was to educate the journalists. A public section on its Web site, www.bimco.org, contains information explaining the nuts and bolts of the business. At “Seascapes,” journalists can find general background to support reports on breaking news. Although mistakes sometimes still appear in articles, we’d like to think there have been fewer gaffes as a result of this initiative.
   Seascapes’ audience has grown beyond journalists to include students who have found it useful in their studies.
   Having established a portal explaining how the business works, BIMCO has since created a Web site forum, “Viewpoints,” to explain its positions on industry issues. Also accessible to public users, Viewpoint provides articles on issues considered of critical and topical relevance to shipping industry stakeholders. These positionts have been developed by the BIMCO secretariat and approved by its executive committee and board of directors.
   A common thread running through all BIMCO’s positions is the promotion of harmonized and globally enforced shipping regulations. We have seen what happens when attempts are made to introduce local or regional regulations. Ships trading between ports that each enforce unilateral regulations must take additional burdensome steps to ensure compliance at such ports. These could include the need to have additional equipment onboard or several grades of marine fuels. If all ports enforced their own rules, the efficiencies of international ocean transport would quickly be lost.
   On the bright side, couts have overruled several attempts by individual U.S. states to enforce unilateral regulations. While recognizing that certain seas deserve special protections and related measures, BIMCO has championed harmonized globally applied regulations to protect the efficiencies ocean shipping provides.
   Initially, there are 15 Viewpoint summaries available on the BIMCO Web site. Each provides a brief background on the issue and a summary of BIMCO’s position. Topics generally range from protection of the environment, the human element, to maritime security.
   If one were to judge from reports in the mainstream media, the only issue ship owners face is the continued threat Somali pirates pose to ships and seafarers. However even this perception does not fully capture the human suffering seafarers face, increasingly tortured or killed at the hands of their captors.
   In the meantime, BIMCO and other industry stakeholders have made progress with initiatives at the IMO aimed at reducing greenhouse gases. This progress will make a green transport provider (creating only 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions) even more environmentally friendly with improved technologies and cleaner fuels.
   BIMCO’s positions have evolved over time to reflect the ever-changing climate of our business. A new issue was taken up as ships become increasingly dependent on technology. It was felt that attention must be given to the software running critical equipment on board. Failure to do so would create the potential for an environmental disaster and the loss of life, equally unattractive outcomes.
   That is just one example, as visitors to BIMCO’s Viewpoints may be surprised to see the variety of issues ocean carriers face. In any case, readers will certainly know where BIMCO stands on these ongoing issues affecting our global supply chain and the companies and seafarers serving global trade.