Dear members, dear BIMCO community

Firstly, I hope you and your families are well. When I wrote my Seasonal Greeting to you this time last year, we were still held very much in the tight grip of COVID-19. While 2021 brought many grievances due to the pandemic, 2022 has certainly provided us with different challenges to contend with. The effects and consequences of the war in Ukraine are felt widely in and beyond Europe. It is causing disruptions to energy and food supplies and rising costs of living due to galloping inflation. For some, it is barely felt, for others, it is devastating.

For the shipping community, our seafarers once again found themselves endangered, at least the seafarers that were finding themselves in and around the area of conflict. Our industry also found itself struggling with sanctions and how to live up to their enforcement. BIMCO’s role was to make sure the industry had the right tools and advice at hand from a contractual perspective, shifting focus from the Infectious or Contagious Disease Clause to War Risk and Sanctions clauses.

At BIMCO, our core strengths are to adapt to a world that never stands still, and to address the needs of our members.

The safety of seafarers remains a priority. This year, we, together with the industry, launched a strategy to eliminate the piracy and armed robbery threat in the Gulf of Guinea through a mechanism to improve and reinforce counter-piracy practices by local and global actors. On the environmental safety front, we published a commissioned report looking into the ship recycling industry. The report confirmed our position in relation to the need for the Hong Kong Convention to be adopted, and for more non-EU yards to be added to the EU list. Ship recycling holds a tremendous potential for adding to the circular economy and working towards the adoption of the Hong Kong Convention will remain a priority for BIMCO.

On the regulatory front, it is safe to say that the industry, and thereby BIMCO, is facing one of the biggest challenges in years. The CII regulation is now only days away from entering into force. The regulation was adopted at the IMO despite attempts by us and the wider industry to point out the potential pitfalls of the CII formula. The CII Operations Clause for Time Charter Parties was adopted on 16 November by the Documentary Committee, which has a broad representation of industry stakeholders. How the industry will adapt to the CII regulation, and the CII clause, remains to be seen, but BIMCO is monitoring the developments closely and reviewing the need for new clauses constantly.

Publishing the Emissions Trading System Allowances Clause for Time Charter Parties, revising and updating one of our flagship contracts, GENCON, and adapting to industry needs through expansion are other examples of supplying the industry with the necessary tools.

I am delighted that our Singapore office has not only re-opened but also increased the number of staff on the ground. As you are aware, we are also now fully operational in Houston and Brussels, the latter in a direct bid to be closer to the EU decision-making process. Expanding our global reach means we can better support our members.

Another area in which we will be increasing our focus in 2023 is digitalisation. This is an important area as digitalisation holds vast potential for delivering tools that can help our industry cut emissions. To take a few examples, we have developed a new E-bills of lading standard, established our own Standards, Innovation & Research department, and joined the IMO and the International Association of Ports and Harbours in promoting the Maritime Single Window. We have also joined the Blue Visby Consortium to support research into practical solutions that help reduce the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions, as we respond to advancements within the digitalisation agenda.

Lastly, with all the changes and challenges facing the world, world trade, and thereby our industry, I have launched a new bi-annual BIMCO initiative with the support of my predecessors and successors - The President’s Forum - with the aim to gain insight from industry leaders within our membership. So, if you are in a leadership role, I invite you to participate and share your challenges and opinions with me as BIMCO President and Nikolaus Schües when he takes over as BIMCO President next year. Your valued input will help to inform BIMCO policy and ensure we continue to support and represent you.

I hope 2023 will hold a much clearer passageway than the past few years and that stability will return, which will allow us to focus on the biggest task facing all of us now and in the future: to decarbonise and leave the world in a better state. I wish you and your loved ones all the best and a safe 2023.

Sincerely yours

Sabrina Chao, BIMCO President