A continued downward trend in Somali piracy has prompted leading shipping organisations to reduce the geographic boundaries of the ‘High Risk Area’ (HRA) for piracy in the Indian Ocean, which will apply from 1 September 2021.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is leading calls for governments to put seafarers and frontline maritime shore workers at the head of the vaccine queue and to designate seafarers as key workers, to prevent a repeat of the 2020 ‘crew change crisis’.
The maritime industry’s transition to the sulphur regulation from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which came into force on 1 January 2020 has not been without problems. Since fuel oil properties are fluctuating, it is expected that quality and safety problems will continue to be a challenge for the global shipping industry.
The International Maritime Organisation’s fourth Greenhouse Gas Study highlights that the shipping industry has continued its trend of decoupling emissions growth from the global growth of seaborne trade.
While some port communities seized the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution and developed into full-fledged ‘smart’ ports, many others have barely grasped the essentials of digitalisation.
