IAPH’s senior manager: Data Collaboration, Risk & Resilience Chloe Rowland and senior advisor sustainability & IMO liaison officer Rhona Macdonald met with Niels Van Laer, chairman of the IAPH Risk & Resilience Committee and harbour master of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Quinten Perneel, incident management officer, also of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, in London 8-9 January. The topic under discussion was the agenda of the IAPH Risk & Resilience committee for the year ahead. Meeting at IAPH’s shared office with the British Ports Association at Park Street, the team agreed to cover issues including climate resilience, lithium-ion batteries, and potential revisions to the ISPS Code. In particular, climate resilience has been identified by the IAPH Council as a central topic for further research by the committee in 2026. This issue is recognised as a major physical supply chain risk by insurance companies; there is seen to be a lack of a global, port-focused strategy on the matter. The committee intends to address this via a working group examining a number of initiatives, including the provision to members of a database of best practices and a practical toolkit to help them in their decision-making process to mitigate hazards that result from or, are closely related to, climate change. Another working group is set to deliver outputs related to lithium-ion batteries. Members who wish to be involved in these groups should contact Chloe Rowland at their earliest convenience. The next meeting of the committee will be held online on 26 February at 11.00-12.30 CET.
