Focus on energy transition, data collaboration and resilience to be implemented by IAPH Policy & Strategy unit and administered by Finance and Administration unit
The board members of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) have decided upon a new strategic course of action, establishing new Technical Committees with a reorganisation of resources to support that course.
IAPH President Santiago Garcia Milà commented: “The Board identified three strategic focus areas for the coming years: climate and energy, data collaboration and risk and resilience. These cover genuinely global topics that are on the agenda of most port managers and international regulators such as the International Maritime Organization.
Further to the announcement last week of the partnership agreement with IAPH joining the IMO-Norway GreenVoyage2050 project, the new Climate and Energy committee focus will be to unite all energy-transition and environmental-related port initiatives under one umbrella, serving as conduit to global maritime policymaking at IMO level.
Following the successful launch of a port survey on the status of electronic data exchange capabilities with well over a hundred responses from across the globe, the new Data Collaboration Committee will focus on the action points of the cross-party industry joint call for action to accelerate the pace of digitalization following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. It will also work closely on the IMO FAL convention, and provide further guidance on cybersecurity and automation as well as encouraging technological innovation through startups.
The Risk and Resilience Committee will be the permanent successor to the highly successful WPSP-IAPH COVID19 Task Force with the same expert IAPH members who produced the COVID19 guidance document for ports as well as the COVID19 port economic impact barometer reports for industry-wide use. It’s main focus will be to assist ports in long-term business continuity policymaking, as well as working on critical issues such as dangerous goods handling, climate change preparedness and anti-corruption.
To enable this work, the IAPH Board has restructured the staff and resources in Japan and Europe into two complementary operational units, a Finance and Administration Unit led by the Secretary General Dr. Masahiko Furuichi and a Policy and Strategy Unit led by the Managing Director Dr. Patrick Verhoeven.
The Tokyo-based IAPH unit under Dr. Furuichi maintains its current structure for Finance and Administration Management, membership management as well as member internal and external relations. The unit will also provide organisational support to the three new technical committees.
The European-based IAPH unit under Dr. Verhoeven will have Dr. Antonis Michail as new IAPH Director of Projects and Programmes, managing the content side of the IAPH Technical Committees as well as all IAPH projects and programmes, including the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP). Victor Shieh takes up the role of IAPH Communications and Events Director, managing IAPH and WPSP communications as well as event coordination and content management. WPSP administrative coordinator Fabienne Van Loo joins IAPH as Coordination and Support Manager.
The organisation chart will be completed in 2021, with the further streamlining of the Finance and Administration Unit and the reinforcement of the Policy and Strategy Unit with a London-based Policy and Advocacy Officer, who will look after the daily interaction with UN agencies, notably the International Maritime Organization.
IAPH President Santiago Garcia Milà concluded : “The Technical Committees are the backbone of IAPH. With their reorganisation we aim to increase their added value to our membership. The first induction meetings have already taken place with appointed port experts. We warmly invite all IAPH members to consider their nominees for our new Committees.”
News story contact :
Victor Shieh - IAPH Communications Director
Email : victor.shieh@iaphworldports.org
Tel : + 32 473 980 855
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) is a non-profit-making global alliance of 170 ports and 140 port-related organisations covering 90 countries. Its member ports handle more than 60 percent of global maritime trade and around 80 percent of world container traffic. IAPH has consultative NGO status with several United Nations agencies, including the IMO. Through its knowledge base and access to regulatory bodies, IAPH aims to facilitate energy transition, accelerate digitalisation and assist in improving overall resilience of its member ports in a constantly changing world. In 2018, IAPH established the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP). Guided by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, it aims to unite sustainability efforts of ports worldwide by sharing best practices through its project portfolio and collaborative partnerships.
Main photograph: Timelab Pro | Source: Unsplash