Next to our three strategic technical committees, which cover IAPH’s work programme priorities, we have three niche committees in operation, covering planning, operations & finance, legal issues, and cruise. The Cruise Committee has been inactive for about two years, largely due to the pandemic, but also due to a gap in leadership. Representatives of cruise member ports met in Vancouver three weeks ago, to explore how the committee could effectively be revitalised, defining a concrete agenda. The meeting was held following a keynote address by Kelly Craighead, President and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) at the World Ports Conference (photo). She emphasised that CLIA’s recent announcement of their members’ commitment to pursue net-zero carbon cruising by 2050 highlights the need for ever closer partnership with ports in setting a pathway for the decarbonisation of the cruise sector. Sharing information, experiences and best practices on initiatives undertaken by cruise lines and ports, investments in onshore power facilities, collaboration at IMO level, and developments in emerging markets could form the pillars of a strategic cooperation between CLIA and IAPH. This was very much echoed at the committee meeting, where members decided to focus in first instance on decarbonisation, in close collaboration with the Climate and Energy Committee. As a concrete task, a platform will be created to accelerate onshore power supply (OPS) for cruise vessels, bringing together cruise ports, cruise lines and OPS suppliers. If you are interested in participating in the work of the Cruise Committee, simply send an email to Masahiro Yoshimi at [email protected].
