IAPH and IMO representatives meet to further deepen ties on energy transition, digitalization and safety policy matters impacting shipping and ports
On Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 November, a senior delegation of IAPH attended the IMO Headquarters in London to meet with the Secretary General Kitack Lim and several IMO Directors to discuss mutual cooperation on key issues facing shipping and ports.
IAPH’s Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven commented: “The aim of the meetings, which coincided with the autumn IAPH Board and Council meetings, is to deepen collaboration in terms of knowledge sharing, joint promotion of maritime technical cooperation activities, capacity building and joint resource mobilisation.”
The delegation was welcomed by Martina Fontanet, Technical Officer for Ports at the Subdivision Maritime Security and Facilitation. Martina is one of IMO’s several liaison officers working on a regular basis with IAPH Technical Committees, having previously worked at the European Seaports Organisation and IAPH member the Port of Barcelona. The IAPH President Capt. Subramaniam Karuppiah and several of IAPHs’s Regional Vice Presidents then met with IMO Secretary General Kitack Lim and the IMO Directors Heike Deggim (Maritime Safety Division), Arsenio Dominguez (Marine Environment Division) and Jose Matheickal (Department of Partnerships and Projects).
The meeting, which was a courtesy exchange, allowed delegates from both sides to discuss collaboration on the implementation of the IMO GHG strategy, the joint work with IMO and BIMCO on the implementation of the Maritime Single Window, the recently endorsed IAPH guidelines on cybersecurity for ports and port facilities and IAPH’s partnership on the IMO-Norway #GreenVoyage2050 initiative.
IAPH Board and Council meetings held at IMO Headquarters
IMO also hosted the IAPH delegation at its London Headquarters, which then proceeded with its autumn Board meeting followed by the IAPH Council meeting when the Chairs of the main IAPH Technical Committees. IAPH members discussed progress on existing projects and planning for the next year in terms of work in areas such as the IAPH Environmental Ship Index and the next bunker checklists and audit tools being developed by the IAPH Clean Marine Fuels Working Group.
Discussions were also held on IAPH’s World Ports Sustainability Program and future guidelines being developed on port resilience, innovation and customs in collaboration with member ports and other NGOs such as the World Customs Organization, the World Bank and UNCTAD.
During their stay, the IAPH Board and Council members were also introduced to the Thames Vision 2050 initiative by IAPH member the Port of London Authority and embarked upon a tour of the river afterwards.
News story contact :
Victor Shieh, Communications Director - IAPH : victor.shieh@iaphworldports.org
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has developed into a global alliance of 169 port authorities, including many of the world’s largest port operators as well as 134 port-related businesses. Comprised of 87 different nationalities across the world’s continents, member ports handle approximately one third of the world’s sea-borne trade and well over 60% of the world container traffic. With its NGO consultative status recognized by the IMO, ECOSOC, ILO, UNCTAD, UNEP, and WCO, IAPH leads global port industry initiatives on decarbonization and energy transition, risk and resilience management, and accelerating digitalization in the maritime transport chain. Its World Ports Sustainability Program has grown into the reference database of best practices of ports applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrating them into their businesses.