BSPC Shipping Report

Speech by Jörgen PetterssonVice President of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC)and Rapporteur on Integrated Maritime Policyat the 26th BSPC4 September 2017Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Town Hall,First SessionCooperation in the Baltic Sea RegionReport on Integrated Maritime Policy 2016/2017Check against deliveryChair,when it comes to formulate a core theme for our common future, shipping is a vital part of that. We are roughly 85 million people living by the Baltic Sea and we are depending on ships to trade and communicate.In order to follow the industry and understand their challenges and possibilities myself and Mr. Jochen Schulte have attended conferences and had meetings with shipping representatives all around the Baltic Sea. In the report you can all read what we have learnt and observed. Generally there are more optimisim in regard with shipping today than in many years. Shipowners invest heavily and work very hard to find sustainable solutions.Ten years ago, the EU launched a vision for an integrated approach to maritime affairs that has since grown to a number of policies for the benefit of the Baltic Sea and beyond. From maritime spatial planning to the fight against illegal fishing, from ocean mapping to marine science, from habitat conservation to regional strategies, a number of initiatives have transformed the way Europe collectively goes about its maritime business. The next step, a new strategy on plastics and the circular economy that will act against marine litter, is a good example of how marine issues are now mainstreamed into EU policy-making. All this was deeply discussed at The European Maritime Day in Poole.Another great example where Laws and regulations have made a real impact is the SECA-regulations which banned the use of heave-sulphured fuel as from 2015. The result is less pollutions, less sulphur and less particles ie a healthier world. As we speak a survey is being made by the University of Tallinn in regard with the Economic impacts of the regulation. We will keep you posted in regard with this as soon as we know more.Carbon DioxideAn overall theme in todays shipping world is sustainability. The reasons are simple, we need to act enviromentally in order to do good business. For example the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) have proposed to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) three concrete recommendations:to maintain international shipping’s annual total CO2 emissions below 2008 levels;to reduce CO2 emissions per ton/km by at least 50 % by 2050, as an average across international shipping, compared to 2008, andto reduce international shipping’s total annual CO2 emissions by an agreed percentage by 2050, compared to 2008, as a point on a continuing trajectory of CO2 emissions reduction.All the proposals are bold and the message is clear. The amount of CO2 have to decrease. The industry do their utmost but we also have to form Laws and Regulations in order to make it happen. It is also very important that this is the responsibility of the IMO. Shipping is global and the rules need to be global too.On global, European and national levels, it is vital to have a competitive and stable framework, which will also support green shipping and innovations. No additional or tighter regulation on European/ national levels should be established, as all regulations should be in the IMO. Strong and competitive shipping will result in benefits for the whole maritime cluster.In the Baltic Sea Region, there is a huge potential for the development of the maritime economy. Growth rates are above average growth in the EU; offshore wind energy has increased, as well as cruise tourism and marine aquaculture. These three sectors, along with short-sea shipping, shipbuilding and blue technologies, are among the most promising sectors of the Baltic Sea maritime economy.Against this background, the European Commission adopted the “Sustainable Blue Growth Agenda for the Baltic Sea Region” in 2014. The Baltic Sea agenda for sustainable growth provides a blueprint for harnessing the region’s strengths to boost innovation and growth in the maritime area. Sustainability is an integral part of the plan as it can act as a driver for innovation and more jobs, like in the area of clean shipping.Another of the overall goals when it comes to shipping is the modal shift. It is environmentally wiser to transport goods on sea rather than roads. Whether this modal shift have or will happen is still too early to say.Finally I would like to thank my collegue Mr. Jochen Schulte and Mr Georg Sträcker, Bodo Bahr and Carmen Hohlfeld without whom this report would have not been as complete as it is.