Jim Wilson

Shipping Australia has today filed our submission to the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on it’s draft Anti-Fouling and In-Water Cleaning Guidelines (2024). The Australian draft guidelines discuss approaches for the application, maintenance, removal and disposal of anti-fouling coatings and the cleaning of biofouling on vessels. The guidelines aim to...

As the maritime industry is caught between innovation and traditional operational models, these questions may cross your mind: Why is the industry shifting towards remotely operated and autonomous shipping! What is driving this transformation! To understand this shift, we must acknowledge the broader reality of the global maritime trade, which transports approximately 11 billion tons...

Guy Platten, the outgoing Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping, writes: As we look to the future, decarbonisation remains the defining challenge and opportunity for global shipping. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and there is no doubt that the world is watching. Shipping, which underpins 90%...

Eleonora Modde, General Manager at the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents, writes: 2024 was another busy year for FONASBA, with our Federation embarking on a major membership drive in the Asia Pacific region, the election of a new President and Executive Committee, a very successful Annual Meeting  in Athens and continued...

Amy Rowland, in her WISTA Capacity, writes: Throughout 2024, WISTA Australia has emerged as a powerful advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the maritime and logistics industries. With a series of strategic initiatives, events, and collaborations, WISTA has fostered an inclusive community, addressing the underrepresentation of women and providing networking, leadership, and career...

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has issued its annual Flag State Performance Table for 2024/25, a key resource for shipping companies. Using a wide range of objective performance indicators, the ICS Table provides an analysis of the extent to which flag State administrations adhere to their responsibilities to follow global standards and regulations governing...

Container freight rates across the board are on the slide, or rather the plummet, with the news from Drewry Supply Chain Advisors that the Drewry World Container Index has fallen 10% to US$2,795 per forty footer. Raters were at a recent high of $6k per forty back in July 2024 and that was followed by...

Following the historic decision at the International Maritime Organization of nation states from around the world to mandate net-zer0 greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by 2050, much of the detailed work has been underway. In a horribly, grossly, simplified explanation, the IMO’s work basically boils down to making two (or two-ish) decisions on the so-called...

By the International Maritime Organization  IMO’s Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW) has agreed on draft interim generic guidelines for training seafarers working on ships powered by alternative fuels and new technologies. These draft guidelines will be submitted to the Maritime Safety Committee for approval in June 2025. Meeting in London from 10...

China COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, has announced that one of its new methanol dual-fuel vessels will be able to complete a one-way voyage between the “Far East and the West Coast of America” in a “pure methanol mode” which, presumably, means using methanol-fuel only. Some speculation may be in order as the statement...