Media Release – 30 October 2023
INTERCARGO meets in Athens and celebrates record membership
Members of INTERCARGO met in Athens last week for the Association’s Annual General Meeting, Executive Committee and Technical Committee meetings, with record attendance observed to the satisfaction of all guest attendees and the organising international Association representing the dry bulk shipping sector. The last meetings in Athens had taken place in October 2019 and during that period INTERCARGO are proud to report that registered ships have increased by 50%, thus further strengthening the Association’s global influence. INTERCARGO members with 3,300 ships now represent about one-third of the global dry bulk fleet tonnage.
High on the agenda were INTERCARGO quality initiatives; the IMO’s Greenhouse Gas Strategy in relation to short, medium and long-term measures; future fuels; international environmental regulation including the EU-ETS; ship recycling; operational issues; digitalisation and cyber security; and the employment and welfare of seafarers. Once again, the primacy of safety was a common reference across all these topics during the Committees’ deliberations.
INTERCARGO Chairman Dimitrios Fafalios observed: “INTERCARGO continues to make strong progress internationally despite the geopolitical turmoil. There have been significant developments within the IMO and Europe this year and we will continue to represent dry bulk shipping interests robustly at the highest levels.
Despite the COVID crisis from 2020, seafarers maintained global trade without disruption and were assigned “key worker” status. However, it is of grave concern that unfair detentions and treatment of seafarers continue in many jurisdictions, jeopardising their financial and mental health.
The next decades will require monumental technological breakthroughs and the availability of well qualified and satisfied seafarers is of paramount importance.”
INTERCARGO fully supports all of the IMO’s decarbonisation targets, subject to close collaboration of all supply chain stakeholders and safe/practical/equitable implementation measures.”
The meetings were presided over by INTERCARGO Management Committee members, Chairman Dimitrios Fafalios, Vice Chairman Spyros Tarasis, Vice Chairman Uttam Kumar Jaiswal, Technical Committee Chairman Tom Keenan and Technical Committee Vice Chairman Dimitris Monioudis.
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About INTERCARGO: International shipping is vital for the global economy and prosperity as it transports approximately 90% of world trade. The dry bulk sector is the largest shipping sector in terms of number of ships and deadweight. Dry bulk carriers account for 43% of the world fleet (in tonnage) and carry an estimated 55% of the global transport work. Please view our latest Dry Bulk Shipping video: Sustainably serving the world’s essential needs[1].
The International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO) unites and promotes quality dry bulk shipping, bringing together 250 forward thinking companies from 30 countries. INTERCARGO convened for the first time in 1980 in London and has been participating with consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) since 1993. INTERCARGO provides the forum where dry bulk shipowners, managers and operators are informed about, discuss, and share concerns on key topics and regulatory challenges, especially in relation to safety, the environment, and operational excellence. The Association takes forward its members’ positions to IMO, as well as to other shipping and international industry fora, having free and fair competition as a principle.
