European shipowners support EU guidelines on places of refuge

European shipowners endorsed yesterday the adoption of EU operational guidelines on places of refuge for ships in distress at sea, which were produced by the Cooperation Group on Places of Refuge, bringing together Member States, the European Commission and industry.

Work on these guidelines started following the MSC Flaminia incident...

TRAN ports report a first step but not reaching far enough on market access

On 25 January the Transport Committee of the European Parliament adopted its report on the ports' Regulation. Dating back to 2013, the Commission’s proposal went through a laborious process before finally being adopted by the TRAN Committee, the first step in the legislative process.

Rapporteur Knut Fleckenstein and his team...

European shipowners welcome EP TiSA recommendations

European shipowners welcome the European Parliament’s INTA Committee recommendations to the European Commission on the ongoing negotiations of the Trade in Services Agreement between some of the world’s leading economies.

In it MEPs acknowledge the crucial role shipping plays as the lynchpin of global trade and call for improved access...

Shipowners call for adequate and workable European port reception facilities

European shipowners have issued a position paper on the upcoming revision of the Port Reception Facilities (PRF) Directive adopted in 2000 as a reaction to the recently published ‘inception Impact Assessment’ by the European Commission. In the paper, the shipping industry calls among others for adequate and sufficient port reception...

ECSA is looking for a Director for Social and Fiscal Affairs

The European Community Shipowners’ Associations is the umbrella organisation of the national shipowners’ associations of the EU and Norway. European shipowners control around 40% of the world’s shipping fleet. ECSA’s prime task is to represent the overall interests of the European shipping industry with the institutions of the European Union...

In the wake of COP21, European shipowners call for solid action in IMO

European shipowners welcome the ambitious and forward-looking climate change agreement reached in Paris this weekend. They call on all actors involved to work together for decisive action in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which is the appropriate international body to address greenhouse gas emissions from ships engaged in international trade...

European shipowners want shipping reintroduced in COP21 text

European shipowners join the European Commission, MEPs and various stakeholders in calling for shipping to be brought back in the text currently negotiated in the context of the COP21 climate talks in Paris.

‘The talks in Paris are a unique opportunity to give a clear signal to the Member States...

16+1 proposals to boost the EU’s shipping policy

In an effort to provide the European Commission with constructive input ahead of the upcoming review of the EU shipping policy in 2017, European shipowners unveiled on Tuesday 16+1 proposals to highlight the industry’s point of view and priorities.

“What we really want to show Transport Commissioner Bulc is that...

Niels Smedegaard takes ECSA helm

Niels Smedegaard, President and CEO of DFDS, has been elected as the new President of the European Community Shipowners' Associations, with Mr Panagiotis Laskaridis, founder and CEO of Laskaridis Shipping, as Vice-President. Mr. Smedegaard, whose term starts in January 2016, replaces Thomas Rehder who has been at the helm of...

Global cooperation is the bedrock of a successful European shipping policy, shipowners say

Global cooperation must remain an absolute priority of European shipping policy. That was the principal message of ECSA’s contribution to the Senior Maritime Forum of Marintec China, the largest maritime event in Asia, which is being held in Shanghai this week.

ECSA Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven was invited to...