Major Shipowner Trade Associations Agree to Enhance Cooperation

8th April 20198th April 2019Debra Massey

Today in Singapore, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) signed a joint memorandum of understanding.

This new MOU codifies the extensive level of co-operation that already exists between these important international trade associations and provides a framework for their closer co-operation. The three associations collectively represent over 90 percent of the world merchant fleet. The agreement recognises their respective memberships of national shipowners’ associations and the unique and special relationship which their members enjoy with their national governments. Read more →

Oversupply Still Major Challenge Warns ICS

3rd April 2019Debra Massey

Speaking in Istanbul, Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) warned today that avoiding overcapacity and unsustainably low freight rates is still a major challenge ten years after the massive downturn of 2008.

Mr Bennett said: “In that time shipping companies needed to show restraint when ordering new ships, to prevent stifling recovery. Yet the dark clouds of protectionism and slowing growth in key economies mean that the avoidance of overordering is now more important than ever.”

Addressing an audience of shipowners and operators at the Global Maritime Summit 2019, organised in conjunction with the Turkish Chamber of Shipping, Mr Bennett acknowledged that individual operators would legitimately make their own individual business decisions regarding new tonnage.

Seaspan Completes Rollout of KVH VSAT Connectivity for Global Container Ship Fleet

3rd April 20193rd April 2019Debra Massey

KVH’s solution is critical to maritime operations, business applications, and crew welfare for the 107 vessels

KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), a leader in global mobile connectivity, announced today that Seaspan, one of the world’s largest container ship operators, completed the implementation of KVH mini-VSAT Broadband connectivity for all 107 managed vessels in its global container ship fleet. Seaspan selected KVH’s TracPhone V7-HTS/AgilePlans and KVH’s TracPhone V11-IP for the vessels.

“We chose KVH for the ability to have a superior end-to-end solution from one provider, which can be customized as per our business requirements” says Rajesh Gopinathan, manager of process improvement for Seaspan. “KVH is one of our partners in helping our business succeed. We see their entire solution as critical to our business operation, providing everything from connectivity to 24/7 support, and assisting us in continuously improving the features and functions as our business requirements change. We also appreciate the fact that KVH, working together with our IT department, were able to complete 60 installations in less than 12 months, which is an important factor for our global fleet.”