Joint session of SPC and SNEC Chairs collaborate to strengthen Asian Voices towards blue and safe shipping

The Shipping Policy Committee (SPC) and Safe Navigation and Environment Committee (SNEC) of the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA), held a joint meeting for the first time today to discuss environmental and navigational safety issues, whilst taking into account the impact of economic and shipping policy considerations on aspects of their work.

There are five Standing Committees in the ASA, which usually discuss their own agenda items. Given that the issues which both committees represent are increasingly interlinked, Mr. Keiji Tomoda, Chair of the SPC, who proposed the joint session on this occasion, emphasized; "The COVID pandemic reminded us of the criticality of maritime trade and just how important it was for the shipping industry to collaborate with all associated stakeholders, in order to maintain sustainable supply chains. It has also been recognized, that environmental protection, through a circular economy, can only be also achieved by working together. However, it needs to be appreciated that all of these issues have to consider navigational aspects to ensure the safety of all concerned. With this in mind, I am convinced that multi-layered discussions, through a joint session of both Committees, could only act as a driving force to tackle such important issues more efficiently".

During the joint session, Mr. Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary General, ICS, explained the impacts of global and regional environmental regulations on the shipping industry, saying “ ICS is pleased to join ASA members to increase understanding of the global industry’s Fund and Reward proposal to IMO, ahead of the critical IMO meeting in July, and promote the urgent need to encourage governments to take this forward - together with a global fuel standard - to incentivize first movers with rewards for the rapid production and take-up of low and zero GHG fuels, which will be necessary for shipping to achieve net zero emissions mid-century”. In this context, Ms. Caroline Yang, Chair of SNEC, added that; “International shipping needed to be regulated at a global level and not at any regional level because this will only lead to excessive administrative burden and confusion for the industry. This is consistent with ASA’s long-standing position to support a predictable and uniform approach to regulating GHG emissions that all  shipping sectors will be able to comply with, as ships move across different jurisdictions. We urge IMO and its member states, to accelerate the development of an internationally harmonized framework for decarbonization under which early movers are not disadvantaged”.

The joint session also considered issues concerning the Suez Canal and the need to ensure the safety of transit. From Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Mr. Elsayed Abou El-Fetouh Elsayed, Director of the Planning, Research and Studies Department, and Eng Yasser Abdel Kader Darwish, Director of the Transit Department participated online spite the time difference. SCA provided a review of the lessons learned from the major incident in 2020, which led to some 370 vessels being delayed by the closure of the  Canal, with an estimated US$54 billion dollars of trade lost. The SCA team shared insights, learnings, and measures taken by the SCA to avoid similar accidents in the future. Mr. Tomoda stated that; “Not only the Suez Canal but also the Panama Canal, are strategic points in global supply chains, and both Responsible Authorities need to ensure safe and stable management to accommodate growing volumes of cargo flow. With this in mind, the shipping industry needed to continue dialogue with both Authorities, not only as users of the canals but also with the view of ensuring sustainable supply chains. Such dialogue would cover topics such as green transits and stable supplies of alternative fuels”.

Mr Yuichi Sonoda, Secretary General of ASA, said; “This first joint session of ASA standing committees has proved to be highly beneficial. Economies in Asia are major players in the world shipping industry, leading in shipowning, ship managing, shipbuilding, ship recycling, and seafarers' supply. We also have the geographical advantage to enable close communication, unhindered by time differences, and I would encourage other ASA standing committees to actively collaborate with each other to spread the Asian shipping voice to the world”.

Following the joint session, the 36th SPC interim meeting was held to discuss various agenda items such as recent developments on the international supply chain, anti-trust immunity, US legislation, facilitation payment, and canal issues. For details, please find attached its meeting summary.

Shipping Policy Committee (SPC)

The ASA Shipping Policy Committee (SPC) is a forum for senior executives of Asian shipping lines to review macroeconomic trade information and developments, as they relate to shipping. The objective of the SPC is to improve the quality of executive decision-making through the review of available economic data and the sharing of perspectives on major trade issues.

Safe Navigation & Environment Committee (SNEC)

The ASA Safe Navigation and Environment Committee (SNEC) is a forum for the SNEC members to discuss a pollution-free marine and atmospheric environment and the safety of navigation and protection of life and property at sea. Piracy and armed robbery worldwide are one of the main concerns for the Committee to continue to look into and the regulatory developments are ongoing issues.

MEETING SUMMARY of  the 36th Interim Meeting of the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA)  Shipping Policy Committee (SPC)

The 36th Interim Meeting of ASA SPC was held in Singapore on 2 May 2023. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Keiji Tomoda, Vice President of the Japanese Shipowners’ Association, and participated by 21 delegates from ASA member associations of ASEAN, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea and 5 observers and guests from ASA Associate Members and related organizations, as per the attendance list attached. The ASA SNEC/SPC joint session was also held for the first time, the aim of which in particular was to discuss environmental and navigational safety issues whilst taking into account the impact of economic and shipping policy issues on aspects of their work based on the conclusion of the 35th interim meeting to seek possible collaboration with the SNEC.

During the ASA SPC interim meeting, members were committed to ensuring full compliance with all applicable competition laws throughout the entire program under diligent guidance from their legal counsel, as in previous meetings. The outline of the meeting is as follows:

1. Recent Developments in International Policy and Supply Chain
Delegates reaffirmed the importance of ensuring reliable and efficient services to their customers as their mission in spite of disruptive factors such as geopolitical tensions and pandemics undermining the global supply chain, at the same time, sharing the common view that it is essential to deepen mutual understanding among stakeholders and to work together, if necessary, to achieve the mission. In this context, SPC continues to seek further collaboration with other ASA standing committees to strengthen Asian voices to the public.

Under the agenda item, SPC appreciated Eng. David Miranda Silgado, Person in Charge of Segumar Singapore, General Directorate of Merchant Marine, Panama Maritime Authority, for his presentation titled “We are working towards a blue maritime industry”. He explained how the Panamanian government has contributed toward blue shipping at the international level and also implemented incentive schemes to shipowners. Delegates believe that the approach Panamanian authority takes should be balanced among safety, environment, and efficiency.

2. Anti-trust Immunity and US Legislative Developments
Recent developments concerning the review of the current anti-trust immunity system for corporative carrier agreements in a number of jurisdictions were reported by Mr. Robert K. Magovern, Co-Vice Chair of Transportation and Trade at Cozen O’Connor, and the SPC’s legal counsel. Participants reconfirmed the ASA’s long-standing policy that the anti-trust immunity system for liner shipping agreements was indispensable for the healthy development of the liner shipping industry and the maintenance of reliable service to the entire trading community. In light of the recent legislative proposals in the US following the enactment of the US Ocean Shipping Reform Act 2022 (OSRA2022) last year, which seeks to eliminate the current anti-trust immunity framework for Vessel Sharing Agreements (VSAs), SPC agreed that ASA will take necessary actions, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to support the maintenance of anti-trust exemptions for liner shipping agreements.

3. Special Lecture on Anti-Bribery
Ms. Cecilia Müller Torbrand, CEO of Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), delivered a special lecture concerning recent activities and strategy, especially in relation to its cooperation framework with the Suez Canal Authority. Delegates also echoed MACN’s activities to eliminate all forms of maritime corruption which had long been constraints to fair trade for shipping companies. It was therefore agreed that the SPC members were encouraged to use MACN Anonymous Reporting System to report incidents to MACN in a proactive manner. We continue to closely monitor this issue as a standing item at the SPC, seeking further collaboration with MACN.

4. Canal Issues
In light of the fact that the unexpected changes precipitated by the pandemic are now swiftly returning to almost normal, delegates shared the view that sharp increases in Canals toll based on the unprecedented shipping market should be reviewed in a timely manner. In addition, SPC reaffirmed the necessity to continue to seek safe, smooth, and stable transit of the canals through dialogues with ACP (Panama Canal Authority) and SCA (Suez Canal Authority) for sustaining a global supply chain, which was proved to be vulnerable due to port congestions and geopolitical tension over the past three years. The dialogues intend to be aimed at covering a wide range of topics, not only their long-term pricing strategy including the pre-notice period before toll revisions but also safe and efficient operation to address the increase in cargo volume. In this connection, delegates appreciated a positive step, under the leadership of the SPC Chair, to invite a representative from SCA to make a presentation on the safe transit of the Canal at the joint session of SPC and SNEC today. SPC also confirmed that it was essential for the stakeholders to take a harmonized approach to effectively voice common positions within the industry to the authorities as well as the public. SPC members were therefore encouraged to input ASA’s positions to international associations they belong to.