New leadership for new challenges
The new OCEAN Chair reflects
In this blog entry, the recently elected Chair of OCEAN, Mr Costantino Zavoianni, shares his impression of the first months in the post and comments on the future challenges affronting EU ship supply.
Changes are happening rapidly across Europe, and OCEAN must adapt.
As the new Chairman, I've been intrigued to learn about the continent's profound economic, social, environmental, and political transformation plans and my personal commitment will be to meet these challenges as a united European ship supply industry in such a dynamic environment, which presents both difficulties and opportunities.
The European Union and its member countries are already transforming how we use energy, consume, travel, and trade. My proposal and Board adoption to establish a new sustainability working group, which will be led by our Vice Chair Carl Forsman, answers to the need to face the profound impact the EU's environmental sustainability goals and its fight against climate change would have on EU ship supply.
OCEAN must assess the situation and recommend action to its members before the EU and its member states will force changes upon us. Please keep in mind that the EU's aim is to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and its pledge to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels! This will undoubtedly affect our industry in ways that are just beginning to surface.
We must also heed the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) call to cut shipping emissions by at least half by 2050 and I believe ISSA's contributions to the sustainability debate are crucial in this context.
The multitude of proposed and new EU regulations in this field can feel overwhelming. As OCEAN, we must collaborate to navigate the complex web of rules, identify the relevant ones for our industry, and determine the appropriate course of action to recommend.
While complying with the EU's Green Deal rules is essential, our responsibilities extend beyond that. The EU has introduced new customs regulations ideas that, if implemented as suggested, will significantly change how we deal with customs in the future. The exchange of information between ship suppliers and customs authorities is pivotal in facilitating the modernization of customs.
Our constant data share will give the new EU Customs Authority (using the newly established Customs Data Hub) significant trade insights and allow for astute risk assessment. This could lead to great simplifications and even make the customs declaration irrelevant in the future.
As for the exact impact of these new customs reform proposals on ship supply, the dedicated CEVVT working group, successfully led by Mr. Pinto and joint by a team of high professional customs specialists, is actively addressing the issue.
I also want to assure you that our reform Agenda50 will still be a top priority for the new leadership team
We are dedicatedly working on it, but we understand that we must set priorities. Not all can be done!
In particular, we would like to have a conversation with you regarding the influence of digitization on different domains of our business. How can we leverage this advanced technology to enhance our clients' experience and ensure faster service and higher quality? Your suggestions on this matter are highly appreciated, and we are excited to hear from you about the next steps OCEAN should take.
As Chair of OCEAN, I've made it a priority to engage and communicate with our members and industry stakeholders, and I hope to see as many of you as possible at the ISSA conference in Dubai later this year for a face-to-face chat.
Meanwhile, OCEAN has been visiting the Baltic region, meeting with OCEAN members of Latvia and potential future members of Lithuania.
I want to talk to as many of you as possible, and if budget constraints limit our options, I'm open to an online meeting to get your input.
Thereafter, OCEAN will be well-positioned to work effectively and defend your interests in Brussels. If you want me to attend your national General Assembly or other events to introduce myself to your members, please get in touch with our Secretariat, so we can make arrangements.
As you can see, dear friends and colleagues, OCEAN's schedule is jam-packed, and there's never a dull moment. I appreciate your help and involvement.
Europe is experiencing rapid changes, and OCEAN must keep up. You’re your support; OCEAN is up to the challenge.
Grazie
