On March 16, 2021, Cao Desheng, Director General, China Maritime Safety Administration （MSA）and Guy Platten, Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping （ICS）held a maritime management meeting. Li Guanyu, Deputy Director-General, Chen Xingsen, Deputy Director, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China and the relevant business department heads of China MSA attended the meeting.
The two parties briefly introduced the responsibilities of their respective agencies and exchanged views on issues of mutual concern in the shipping industry, such as joint response to COVID-19, ship safety, maritime investigations, and crew training for the Ballast Water Management Convention. Focusing on the in-depth exchange of views on cooperation in the field of greenhouse gas emission reduction in international shipping, they expressed that they will cooperate closely to jointly promote the achievement of fair and pragmatic greenhouse gas emission reduction measures in international shipping under the framework of the International Maritime Organization （IMO）. The two parties also agreed to establish a regular meeting mechanism and set up a communication group to communicate and discuss in a timely manner on IMO convention documents and technical issues of common concern.
The two parties agreed that they have maintained good and pragmatic cooperation on IMO meetings and other platforms. Through this meeting, they have a deeper understanding of each other and find that there are many common concerns in the maritime field, which has laid a solid foundation for further deepening bilateral cooperation in the future. Based on the foundation, we look forward to more extensive exchanges and cooperation between the two parties in the future. Cao Desheng, Director General, sincerely wished the other party an early global victory over the epidemic.
Established in 1921, ICS is the first non-governmental organization to obtain IMO consulting status. Its members come from shipowners’ associations in 37 countries/regions, representing over 80 ％ of the world merchant fleet with an important influence in the international shipping industry.