ECSA appointment news

ECSA, European Community Shipowners’ Associations has appointed Ms. Karoliina Rasi as Director Public Affairs and Communications to join its team in Brussels taking over from Dimitrios Banas.

Originally from Finland, Karoliina has over 18 years of experience in public affairs and public...

Ports Regulation: text up for adoption in Parliament leaves a lot to be desired

Tomorrow, Members of the European Parliament will be voting on the EU Ports Regulation and, more specifically, on rapporteur Knut Fleckenstein’s report, which was previously adopted by the Transport (TRAN) Committee.

Overall, European shipowners are disappointed with the TRAN text, which was supposed to address a longstanding request from port...

European shipowners showcase Short Sea Shipping

During a high level meeting organised by the Dutch Presidency of the Council yesterday in Amsterdam, ECSA presented its new brochure on the merits of short sea shipping. The intention behind this new initiative is to revitalise the EU’s short sea policy, which has unfortunately been neglected in the past...

Environment Commissioner Vella’s scrubber visit in Ghent

European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella visited last Friday the DFDS vessel “Magnolia Seaways” in the port of Ghent. The purpose of the ECSA-organised visit was to demonstrate how a scrubber functions onboard a modern day vessel and explain the challenges arising from the operation of such equipment.

Following the visit...

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...