Yudhishthir Khatau new BIMCO president
SHIPPING: Yudhishthir Khatau has been elected the 41st President of BIMCO. He succeeds Robert Lorenz-Meyer, who has completed his two-year time in office. Mr Khatau is the first BIMCO President from India and at 43, the youngest ever in BIMCO’s 106 year history.
In his inaugural speech, at the BIMCO General Meeting in Vancouver, the new BIMCO President focused strongly on energy issues, which he suggested were key to so many of the problems facing the shipping industry, as its most important running cost element, as a principal cargo commodity and as a driver for many of the regulatory changes which the industry is facing.
Pointing out that while alternative energy sources such as nuclear, wind, solar or biofuels might seem attractive, current technology made them impractical for the foreseeable future and the industry, he emphasized, must live with fossil fuel and all its attendant challenges. Global emission limits, the spread of emission controls and increasing pressures to reduce greenhouse gases, he said, constitute a “game changer” for many owners.
Ship operators were increasingly having to make difficult choices on whether to fit scrubbers or opt for low sulphur fuels, while worrying about the availability of these. Those considering newbuildings were asking questions about LNG-fuelled possibilities and the practicality of its bunkering infrastructure. From BIMCO’s perspective, he suggested that the role of the organisation in representing its members in so many of the fuel and emission-related regulatory issues was becoming increasingly important.
In the current debate over greenhouse gases, Mr Khatau urged global solutions and the avoidance of regional initiatives, practical solutions rather than “high politics”, and those which treat shipping fairly. Stressing the importance of next month’s IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting, he expressed his hope that there can be agreement on the issue of energy efficiency indices, pointing out the importance of resisting any measures that turn shipping into a cash-cow for governments to resolve their issues with climate change.
The incoming President pointed out that while last year’s manpower study concluded that the supply of officers and ratings was adequate, future demand suggested that very well-trained seafarers were increasingly necessary to handle the operations of more sophisticated ships.
Earlier, the retiring President Robert Lorenz-Meyer strongly criticized governments for their inadequate response to the piracy plague. Paying a tribute to courageous seafarers, he said that it was “appalling” that governments had failed to honour their obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
At the General Meeting, the Scottish shipowner John Denholm was elected President Designate to succeed Mr. Khatau in two years time.
About BIMCO
BIMCO is the largest of the international shipping associations, with a membership drawn from a broad representation of stakeholders within the shipping industry, notably from the shipowning community, representing 640 million DWT or about 65% of merchant shipping. With a total membership of approximately 2,600 individual members from 123 countries, composed of shipowners, shipbrokers and agents and other entities with an interest in or associated with the Maritime Industries, BIMCO is widely respected for its practical approach and its opinions and recommendations are regular and important elements in the international governmental organizations’ process of creating international standards and guidelines for the shipping industry. BIMCO is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and holds observers’ status with several United Nations agencies involved with shipping industry matters, notably the International Maritime Organization and working closely together with maritime administrators in e.g. the European Community and the United States. In recognition of its position within the international shipping community, the US Coast Guard formed a partnership agreement with BIMCO to jointly address issues of regulatory compliance and maritime governance in an effort to find practical and workable solutions for shipowners plying US trade. BIMCO is committed to promote fair and equitable international shipping policy and regulatory matters and seeks to continue to be the selected and trusted sparring partner and source of practical information by policymakers and other stakeholders.
Source: BIMCO / maritimedanmark.dk
