2nd day –
“Maritime Cyprus 2015” Conference
The second day of the Conference "Maritime Cyprus 2015 "
was successfully concluded yesterday in Limassol. Hundreds of distinguished participants from all around the globe
attended the deliberations of the Conference, which is regarded as one of the
most successful shipping conferences worldwide.
The Conference’s second day
deliberations were entitled “The New Shipping “Environment” ”.
The discussion examined some of the elements that influence the regulatory decisions in
international shipping and addressed some of the key challenges the shipping
industry is facing today in relation to the use of cyber-physical systems on
board ships. The debate was divided into two sessions. The first session focused
on the subject "Do Shipping people influence decisions?", while the second
session focused on "e-shipping”.
The first session of the debate was moderated by Mr Andreas
Chrysostomou, Acting Director of the Department of Merchant Shipping, Ministry
of Transport, Communications and Works. The panel was composed of Mr Paul
Kyprianou, External Relations Manager of the Grimaldi Group, Mr Pierre-Yves
Cousteau, Member of the Board of the Cousteau Society, Mr Peter Hinchliffe,
Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping and Mr John Maggs,
President of Clean Shipping Coalition.
The distinguished
panellists focused on the regulatory decision making process, paying particular
attention to the participation and the influence of the maritime industry in the
decision-making process at the International Maritime Organization
and the European Union. They agreed that the maritime industry can be
influential in some occasions depending on the nature of the debate and the
political decisions taken. The panellists expressed concern about some of the
environmental decisions taken in relation to shipping during the last years and
questioned the methodology followed in order to reach those decisions. They
further noted that the shipping industry should be proactive in adopting best
practices. Additionally, they indicated that coordinated actions should be taken
to persuade public opinion that the shipping industry attributes great
importance to environmental issues.
Subsequently, a discussion took place on "e-shipping”. Mr Edwin
Lampert, Group Managing Editor of the Riviera Maritime Media Ltd was the
moderator for this discussion, with the panellists being the following, Mr
Socrates Theodossiou, Managing Director of Tototheo Group, Mrs Jacqueline Smith,
Maritime Coordinator of the International Transport Workers' Federation and Mr
Robert Giuffra, Chairman of General Policy Group of the International
Association of Classification Societies.
The panellists explored the
impact of cyber-physical systems on board ships and how these systems affect
navigation, seafarers, safety and security of the vessels. During the debate the
panellists indicated that e-shipping should be ‘ user needs led’ rather than led by
technologists or regulators. Furthermore, they indicated that
the success of “e-navigation” will rely heavily upon the proper
involvement of all parties concerned and in particular the seafarers throughout
its development and implementation. They also stressed that the aim of
e-shipping is not to replace the seafarers on board vessels, but to assist them
in taking more informative decisions, thus making the ships safer and more
efficient. Concluding, the panelists indicated that despite the advanced
technological developments, e-shipping has not yet matured and further studies
are required, especially with regards to maintaining the cyber security, which
is vital for the ship and the port facilities.
