Members of the IAPH Board and Council gathered in person earlier this week at the IMO headquarters in London. On Monday, Board members met with IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim and his leadership team, exchanging views on international regulatory priorities regarding decarbonisation of shipping and the introduction of the maritime single window. The IMO secretary-general expressed his appreciation for the pro-active role IAPH plays in supporting the IMO agenda. Board members then proceeded with their internal meeting. They discussed and approved the budget for 2023, including the budget of the IAPH Environmental Ship Index. Board members also discussed the initial findings of an internal benchmarking exercise, comparing the financial and organisational structures of IAPH with those of a peer group of related trade associations in the maritime field. A final report is planned for February. Meanwhile, management will already work on a number of ‘quick wins’ to improve performance in the short term. On Tuesday morning, Council members met with members of the IMO secretariat, for an in-depth debate on the strategic issues that were addressed in the meeting with the secretary-general. Next to energy transition and the maritime single window, the agenda also included cybersecurity and further structural cooperation between IMO and IAPH. Council members also discussed progress with the implementation of the 2022-2023 work programme of IAPH, the schedule of forthcoming Technical Committee meetings and preparations for the 2023 World Ports Conference. The Board and Council meetings were preceded by a visit to the River Thames on Monday morning, hosted by the Port of London Authority. Board and Council members further hosted an informal dinner on Monday, inviting representatives of the international shipping community, including the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO), the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) and IAPH’s events and media partner S&P Global.
