Security and decarbonisation top Opening Conference agenda

The increasing frequency of attacks on merchant vessels and the need for an IMO-led global framework on decarbonisation were key features discussed at SMM’s Opening Conference. The leading maritime show opened today in Hamburg. German Shipowners’ Association President, Dr Gaby Bornheim, insisted: “We need secure sea lanes. Supply must be safe, and it must be climate neutral.” 
Threats to the egalitarian world order were evident as Dr Emma Salisbury of the Foreign Policy Research Institute warned of the dangers relating to world powers that have realised they face no constraints and can behave as they wish.

International Chamber of Shipping Chairman, John Denhom, emphasised the essential role of the IMO. “We don’t want nation states to interfere with IMO,” he declared. “Geopolitical risk is our primary risk as shipowners. The war has shown us that even the might of the US Navy cannot protect shipping.”

On the climate-related issue of future fuels, Dr Uwe Lauber, Everllence CEO, did not mince his words. Supplies of hydrogen, the basic feedstock for the alternative fuels – ammonia and methanol – are yet to be established, he said. And, he insisted, the rules had to be set on a global basis and issued a warning on future engine development. “We can only pay the bill if we recognise that globally, we must work together. Without the IMO’s regulatory framework, I will not invest any more in the development of a new engine type for alternative fuel.”