Commission extends Liner Consortia Block Exemption Regulation until 2020

The European Commission announced today that the validity of EU rules, which exempt liner shipping consortia that have a market share of up to 30% from EU antitrust rules, will be extended until April 2020 .

Commenting on the move, Patrick Verhoeven, ECSA Secretary-General said: “We warmly welcome the European...

Maritime security strategy: Shipowners call for more action on piracy and streamlining of port security measures

European shipowners are calling for the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to endorse a joint European Commission/European External Action Service (EC/EEAS) Communication, which outlines global actions to safeguard maritime security.

“We commend the European Commission as well as the European External Action Service for taking into account the...

Implementation of the EU Sulphur Directive must be harmonised and realistic

Today is the deadline by which EU Member States have to transpose the European Sulphur Directive into national legislation. With the entry into force of the new European sulphur rules for ships in less than six months, on 1st of January 2015, European shipowners issue an open letter calling for...

Avoiding the iceberg: EU shipowners’ recommendations for an EU Arctic policy

The legal regime for trans-Arctic shipping is complex and consists of the framework laid down in UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) as well as IMO (International Maritime Organisation) instruments. Presently, some coastal states have unilaterally laid claim to parts of the region and have put...

ECSA brings offshore shipping into the fold

In recent years, one of shipping’s more specialised segments, namely service and offshore support vessels, has increased its importance exponentially. The sector includes, among others, ships laying or repairing undersea cables or pipelines, ships prospecting for oil, ships conducting oceanographic research and ships servicing offshore wind, gas and oil installations...

European Shipowners welcome Athens Declaration on Maritime Transport Policy

Yesterday, EU Maritime Ministers met in Athens under the chairmanship of the Greek Minister of Shipping, Maritime Affairs and the Aegean, Mr Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, to discuss the mid-term review of the European Commission’s 2009 Maritime Strategy Communication. At the informal meeting, Ministers unanimously adopted a Declaration, which sets out the...

Filipino seafarers: European Commission acknowledges progress, but ban still pending

In a press release issued last Friday through the EU delegation in Manila, the European Commission confirmed that the Philippine authorities have made substantial efforts to bring their maritime education, training and certification system in line with the requirements of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping...

EU shipowners applaud European Parliament’s change of heart on monitoring of CO2 emissions

The plenary of the European Parliament (EP) adopted today its report on the Commission proposal for a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Regulation of CO2 emissions from ships calling at EU ports. Previously, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee of the EP had endorsed the decision of...

Europe and EU shipping: a two-way street

On the eve of its Board of Directors meeting, which took place today, ECSA organised a lunch in the European Parliament, followed by a high-level seminar to discuss the economic value of the EU shipping industry, as outlined in the Oxford Economics study commissioned by ECSA.

The lunch was hosted...

Europe’s shipping sector welcomes new facilitations for seafarers under the revision of the EU Visa Code

Brussels, 2 April 2014 – The European Community of Shipowners’ Associations, representing the interests of the national shipowners’ associations of the EU and Norway, and CLIA Europe, representing Europe’s cruise industry, welcome the proposal for a revision of the EU Visa Code as a first important development for visa facilitation...