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On behalf of its members, the Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association (KBRV) welcomes Belgium's takeover of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which lasts six months until the end of June 2024.

With the extension of the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) to maritime transport in 2024, the Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association is organising a kick-off info session for its members this coming 27 October. Representatives of the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport will also take part in the event.

The 175 Member States reached a historic agreement that “in or near” 2050 net zero emissions of greenhouse gases from shipping must be achieved. Net zero emissions refers to a 100% reduction across the entire value chain from well to wake.

Belgian and Dutch shipowners’ associations RBSA and KVNR make a compelling appeal to IMO member states to achieve a net zero target for Green House Gas emissions from international shipping by 2050: a 100% reduction across the entire value chain from well to wake.

Exactly a year ago, Russia invaded Ukraine. This major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War plunged Europe and the rest of the world into an energy and food crisis. This invasion surprised many who thought that armed conflicts of this degree would nowadays not be possible on European soil. Especially after a global pandemic that had just brought the whole world to its knees by incapacitating the supply chain of goods and raw material.

At the joint event today at the International Maritime Organisation, representatives from Belgium, Namibia and the Belgian shipping sector presented the green hydrogen project. The event was held on the occasion of the 79th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).

SeaTalk visited Wilfried Lemmens, director of the Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association (KBRV – Koninklijke Belgische Redersvereniging), just as Putin invaded Ukraine. Because so many Ukrainians work on board Belgian ships, the phone was ringing off the hook. In these dramatic moments, we managed to slip in for an interview.

After months of being trapped at sea due to the pandemic, the current war in Ukraine is holding hundreds of thousands of seafarers hostage from the global merchant fleet. There are indeed many seafarers of both Ukrainian and Russian nationalities working on board ships. Many Ukrainian seafarers yearn to go home whilst the sanctions are making it harder to sign on Russian seafarers.

According to the annual piracy report published recently by the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB), piracy and armed robbery at sea last year has reached an all-time low since 1994. But the threat remains.