BIMCO to EC: Add international goal to future maritime policy

BIMCO to EC: Add international goal to future maritime policy    BIMCO, a Denmark-based shipping association whose members control 65 percent of the world merchant fleet, said the European Commission's future maritime policy should aim to achieve its goals through existing international regulations.
   BIMCO's President Knud Pontoppidan spoke Wednesday in front of international industry and government representatives gathered at the World Customs Organization Secretariat in Brussels to explore the Green Paper's scope and potential.
   The EC's green paper on future maritime policy was published in June and puts forward a number of areas for discussion, including sustainable maritime development, quality of life in coastal regions, ocean management tools, maritime governance as well as European maritime heritage and identity.
   Pontoppidan said BIMCO can identify with some of the green paper's goal but 'others not so much.'
   'As a global industry, shipping benefits from harmonized international rules and regulations in order to facilitate the free flow of global trade. All of shipping would otherwise suffer if subjected to a patchwork of disjointed regional or local regimes,' Pontoppidan said.
   'The EU should not limit the development of its maritime policy by ignoring international knowledge and expertise. We therefore encourage that a future maritime policy for the European Union links to the international maritime heritage of the EU countries, and at the same time increase awareness of the importance of shipping, in a historical context as well as a foundation for the present wealth.
   'In BIMCO's opinion a sixth goal should be added to this list, namely 'achieving the goals set out by the future maritime policy through international regulations.'
   'We believe that the future maritime policy will only have a truly worldwide dimension and encompass all vessels that call EU or transit EU waters, if the maritime policy is mounted in international agreements and conventions such as those drafted by the IMO (International Maritime Organization), UNICITRAL (The United Nations Commission On International Trade Law) and ILO (International Labor Organization).
   'In this regard, we would like to point out that many of the ambitions set out by the green paper can be achieved through ratification and implementation of existing international instruments,' Pontoppidan said.
   He cautioned the EU not to tamper with principles established in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, such as the right of innocent passage. 'We would prefer efforts aimed at keeping UNCLOS intact as a global instrument governing the seas.'
   He also pointed out that EU countries have a poor record for ratifying IMO approved conventions designed to improve the marine environment, safety, and health of seafarers, and suggested that the European Maritime Safety Agency should encourage and assist member States to improve on that score, 'In part to actually ensure ratification, in part to ensure a harmonized application of the international rules among all the EU countries.'
   One area of the green paper that concerns BIMCO is the Common European Maritime Space, which Pontoppidan claimed could lead to the 'creation of artificial regional competitive advantage schemes such as protectionist cabotage regulations.'
   'As an advocate of free trade, BIMCO cannot support initiatives that may result in closed markets or the establishment of trade barriers,' he said.
   'Such moves would have an unfavorable effect on competition and result in higher transportation costs. Higher transportation costs would have negative effects on Europe's competitiveness with regard to exports, and increase costs on imports of raw materials, components for manufacturing and consumer goods.'
   Summing up, Pontoppidan said: 'BIMCO appreciates the positive way in which the commission is seeking to develop a holistic maritime policy for Europe. I hope that our contribution to this effort will be taken on board in the constructive way in which it is intended. We are with you to see this project through to its conclusion.'
   Pontoppidan’s full speech is available at https://www.bimco.org.
   The consultation process on the green paper will last until June 30. To view the green paper visit: https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy_en.html .