We’ve curated some of the most interesting news stories from the maritime industry over the past few weeks.

Compliance

Shipping faces a sanctions compliance crisis

Lloyd’s List reported that ill-equipped shipping companies have found themselves navigating a maze of international enforcement that is riddled with contradictions

Banks have invested billions of dollars on sanctions compliance capabilities over the past decade, but the shipping industry has not kept pace. With Russian sanctions reaching across the corporate spectrum like never before, a compliance crisis looms.

In the wake of a series of compliance scandals and record fines, the financial sector has invested heavily over the past decade.

Banks have built an industrial-scale operation just to digest all the regulatory changes, with compliance costs now representing 15% of a bank’s total annual spend in some cases.

According to LexisNexis’ Global True Cost of Compliance report, the projected total cost of financial compliance across financial institutions worldwide is $213.9bn, up from $180.9bn the previous year.

That rise mirrors the expansion of sanctions being meted out as the foreign policy tool of choice for successive regimes, even before Russia vaulted past Iran and North Korea to become the world’s most-sanctioned nation.

Since 2000, the number of individuals and entities on the US sanctions lists has risen more than tenfold, to more than 10,000.

Read the rest at Lloyd’s List: https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1140630/Shipping-faces-a-sanctions-compliance-crisis 

Illegitimate and fraudulent shipping practices threaten regulatory integrity

According to Lloyd’s List, an IMO study into these suspect operations will be presented to the legal affairs committee in 2024.

The rise of fake flag registries, forged documents, fraudulent classification societies and illegitimate P&I clubs — and, more seriously, the issuing and laundering of IMO and MSSI numbers — is now threatening the integrity of the global regulatory system underpinning world trade.

Read the rest at Lloyd’s List: https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1140629/Mind-the-gap-Illegitimate-and-fraudulent-shipping-practices-threaten-regulatory-integrity

MCaaS offers a compliance-as-a-service platform to help reduce the burden of sanctions compliance. Find out more over on the MCaaS website.

Digitalisation

How to use big data for maritime risk management

According to Splash247, big data is one of the most talked about recent developments in business, and with good reason: it is revolutionising knowledge and efficiency.

For the maritime industry, big data has huge potential to improve safety and protect seafarers, by revolutionising marine risk management.

The internal data available from shipping companies increases the accuracy of predictions, enabling companies to pinpoint the cause of individual issues and spot patterns.

You can therefore change practices, introduce new technology and streamline processes to proactively prevent incidents.

Through the advent of big data, there is now a data source with full, clear insights from across the industry.

Combined with peer-reviewed statistical analysis, this provides the basis for the maritime industry’s most effective decision-support safety system, showing not only the risks you face, but also how to solve them.

Read the rest at Splash247: https://splash247.com/how-to-use-big-data-for-maritime-risk-management/

PortLog lets you utilise your data to measure and manage vessel turnaround times in port, by providing anonymised industry benchmarks via digitised Statements of Facts.

As shipping goes digital, seafarers matter more than ever

Shipping’s digital and sustainability transition will be led by its people, and this is an opportunity to create a brighter future for seafarers, writes Matthieu de Tugny, president of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore.

Technology has transformed the very nature of the work at sea, but also the profile of our modern crews.

However, the ongoing technological and digital revolution also brings the promise of a better future for seafarers. Automated systems will progressively replace people for some of the most dangerous or repetitive tasks.

Digital reports will alleviate most of the reporting burden, enabling seafarers to focus on the thrilling work that brought them to a career at sea in the first place.

As shipping’s workforce is being transformed, now is an opportunity to push for greater diversity and make shipping a more attractive career path for people from all backgrounds.

We must actively support gender diversity, equity and inclusion to attract and retain the talent that will drive our industry forward.

Read the rest at Splash247: https://splash247.com/as-shipping-goes-digital-seafarers-matter-more-than-ever/

Marcura’s solutions digitise processes in maritime to reduce costs, improve efficiency and enhance compliance. Find out more on Marcura’s website.

Diversity

Women in Maritime Survey Shows Uneven Progress on Gender Equality

As reported by Maritime Executive, female employment remains low in seafaring roles, according to data from IMO and WISTA’s first ever Women in Maritime Survey, but female representation is strong in some shoreside sectors of the industry.

On average, 29 percent of today’s total industry workforce is female, and 39 percent of female employees are in mid-management roles. The results suggest that women’s access and participation are uneven from sector to sector.

In some professional services sectors – maritime law, marine insurance, marketing and advertising – women make up about half of the surveyed workforce.

In the offshore sector, responding companies reported female representation of about four percent. Bunkering, surveying, fishing, shipbuilding and towage all came in under 15 percent.

Women still make up less than two percent of the seagoing workforce worldwide, and most of the total is concentrated in the cruise industry.

Read the rest at Maritime Executive: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/women-in-maritime-survey-shows-uneven-progress-in-gender-equality

Marcura is an inclusive workplace. Check out the working at Marcura page for more information.

Environment

Barcelona Plans First “Emissions Tax” on Cruise Ships in 2023

Ports around the world are grappling with the challenges of new regulations and the need to reduce carbon emissions from their operations.

Barcelona has become the first to propose an “emissions tax,” specifically for cruise ships visiting its port.

A popular cruise destination and one of Europe’s busiest ports, environmental activists have previously criticized Barcelona for having high levels of carbon emissions and air pollution.

Specifics of the planned tax have not been announced, but it will be in addition to other taxes placed on tourists visiting the popular destination. Jordà reported that the Minister for Climate Action, Food and the Rural Agenda is working together with the Ministry of Economy to finalize the plan for the tax on cruise ships.

Read the rest at Maritime Executive: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/barcelona-plans-first-emissions-tax-on-cruise-ships-in-2023

Marcura supports our customers’ drive towards decarbonisation. For more see Marcura’s 2022 UNGC report.