By THOMAS A. KAZAKOS, Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping, who writes:
The international regulatory framework that has long governed global shipping stands at a moment of real consequence. For decades the system developed through the International Maritime Organization has provided uniform rules for a sector that transcends borders.
It has delivered consistency for shipowners, supported environmental responsibility, and ensured that global trade flows efficiently and safely. Yet this framework now faces increasing pressure. For Australia and for the wider
Asia Pacific region, this challenge is accompanied by significant opportunity, provided that governments remain aligned with global rather than unilateral approaches.
The most visible pressure arises from an increasing tendency for regional or unilateral measures to be introduced without full consideration of their global implications. An example of this is the EU’s Emissions Trading System which includes international shipping. This helps to create the precedent in which regional market based measures were applied to a global industry whose operations traverse multiple jurisdictions in a single voyage. Whatever
the environmental motivations behind such actions they nonetheless undermine the principle that regulation of international shipping is most effective when crafted and implemented through the IMO.
