At its Annual General Meeting in Port Douglas, Queensland, today on 25 May, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) elected a new Chairman, Mr Masamichi Morooka (Japan).
ICS is the principal international trade association for shipowners, with a membership comprising national shipowners’ associations from 36 countries representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet.
With immediate effect, Morooka has been elected to succeed Spyros M Polemis (Greece) who has decided to stand down after six years in office. Being at the helm of the industry’s most influential international trade association, Morooka will serve as a leading representative of the global shipping industry, overseeing its liaison with international regulators such as the International Maritime Organization and the International Labour Organization.
Speaking after his unanimous election, Morooka remarked: “I am very honoured to have been elected by the ICS member national shipowners’ associations. Being chairman is a big responsibility and my primary task will be to ensure that ICS continues to represent the considered views of the entire industry. This means reflecting and reconciling the opinions of different ship types and trades, different national viewpoints, and the interests of shipping companies big and small.
“Within ICS there are perhaps three big challenges on which we will need to focus this year: the elimination of piracy; the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions, and our response to proposals that must be expected from governments following the Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy.”