The IAPH Risk and Resilience Committee met virtually on 12 October, guided by Niels Vanlaer (Port of Antwerp) and Shri Madiwal (Port of Vancouver), respectively the nominated committee chairman and vice-chairman. Members discussed and approved the way forward with the development of the guidelines for business continuity policy and risk preparedness for ports, one of the key deliverables of the committee for 2022. While a core guidance document will be finalised by the end of this year, it will be complemented by port case studies and contributions in an online and interactive format from the beginning of next year onwards. Reflecting on supply chain disruptions emanating from the Ukrainian conflict and beyond, members agreed that ports should proactively stay focused on long-term strategies while reactively responding to occurring disruptions that are becoming the new business as usual. On port performance and competitiveness, the Committee welcomed the findings of the recently published ‘Close the Gaps’ report, agreed to build along those its work programme for the years to come. Members also discussed progress with the World Ports Tracker ahead of a new data collection exercise towards the end of October. Furthermore, the Committee reviewed progress on some of the individual topics on its radar, including climate resilience, anti-corruption, and safe handling of dangerous goods. On the latter topic, members discussed a proposal for an MoU for joint work between IAPH and ICHCA. Finally, members were briefed on the key topics and expectations from the forthcoming IMO Marine Safety Committee meeting in November. The next meeting of the Risk and Resilience Committee will be taking place in January 2023 with the exact date to be announced in due time.
