Can Europe take the role as the engine in the future maritime picture? Director Fotis Karamitsos of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy and Transport thinks so.
The European maritime industry has an important role to play. Europeans import two tonnes of cargo per person every year. Ninety per cent of Europe's international trade takes place by sea while 40% of transport between EU member states is carried out by short-sea shipping.
“Yes, we want to take the role as the engine in the future maritime picture. We are leading today, and we want to keep it that way,” says Director Fotis Karamitsos of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for
Energy and Transport.
He has worked for the Commission in Brussels for 27 years. With a background as a Civil Engineer and transportation planning, he has over the years been responsible for several areas, even tourism. In 2001, he became Director for Logistics, Innovation, Co-modality and Maritime Transport. This means that he is challenged to view the maritime industry as a part of a bigger picture.
“Today China receives a lot of attention as it has very many shipyards, an overwhelming proportion of goods and a gigantic workforce,” says Mr Karamitsos, continuing: “But the fact is that most of the technological input to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) comes from European countries. As much as 40% of the global fleet is EU owned, and 27% of the ships sail under European flags.”
The question he asks is how Europe not only can retain this position, but how these figures can be increased?
Three key factors
To stay in the lead there are three key factors to be dealt with, Mr Karamitsos points out.
Firstly, the EU must make sure to keep jobs in Europe and prepare the ground so that enough people – and the right people – are attracted to the maritime industry. It is vital that young people are aware of the potential for multiple career opportunities that exist under the maritime umbrella.
Secondly, the European maritime cluster must stay competitive, especially within technological innovations, and he adds that the Norwegian maritime cluster has an important role to play here. European shipping must also operate within a stable economic environment.
The third aspect is quality and fair competition. “We must do our utmost to raise the quality bar and establish a level playing field for operators globally. This will make the European industry more attractive and profitable, and will also preserve the maritime environment,” he says. He underlines that quality labels sell, and this is an issue to be given more attention. The European quality aspect must be used to gain a higher market share as well as to attract more ships back into the European registers.
He states that a lot has been accomplished within all these three key areas during the past ten years, but there are still important measures to be taken.
White Paper under way
In 2006, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Jacques Barrot, who was in charge of transport, issued a White Paper on the future European transport policy (‘European transport policy for 2010: time to decide’) which highlighted the importance of maritime transport for the Union. Furthermore, last October the Commission published its views towards an encompassing maritime policy (‘Towards a future Maritime Policy for the Union: A European vision for the oceans and seas’). Now Mr Karamitsos is following up the requirements set up in these two policy documents to formulate the future targets for shipping.
“We call it our Blue Horizon for European maritime transport,” he says with a smile. Here the focus will be on how to take advantage of European strengths, such as quality culture, qualified personnel and technology to make the European maritime industry more efficient and competitive.
As part of this work, he has initiated wide consultations with participants from across the European maritime cluster looking at different defined questions, such as: What are the challenges ahead? What can be done? At the European Union level? At a national level?
In the Blue Horizon, the European maritime transport industry will be seen as a part of a bigger picture, meaning that the interface with the environmental and social aspects will be taken into account, as will be the interface with other aspects, such as fishing, tourism and offshore wind farms.
Mr Karamitsos hopes that the European Commission will issue the Blue Horizon in October.
Quality challenges in global shipping
Looking past the EU borders, he acknowledges that the quality aspect is not only a European challenge, but also a global challenge. Although conventions are in place and the rules are clear, there are too many dishonest players to be found.
“We must get rid of the sub-standard operators,” he says. “We must gain respect for the rules that people have agreed on in the first place.”
He regards flag-state responsibilities and respect of international conventions as the priority, but also the port state control regime as a driving force for quality, and draws attention to the Paris Memorandum of Understanding and the US Coast Guard as the best in class.
“We should have equally minded administrations all over the globe and they should all try to have their flags at ‘white list’ level,” he says.
Challenging newcomers
The vast number of newcomers in the shipbuilding industry also poses a challenge, according to Mr Karamitsos.
“In countries in the Far East, there are too many new shipyards and we have no guarantee that all these ships will be built properly. The classification societies have a vital role to play here. Our fear is what can happen with poor quality ships built at these shipyards; ships that are classified by societies that do not meet the standards such as those of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). We have heard some terrible stories already. However, a proposal has been submitted to the IMO for the introduction of a new code for classification societies, built on the model used in the EU,” he says.
Environmental innovations
He has one more challenge for the classification societies as well; environmental emissions and climate change are on everybody’s agenda these days, and Mr Karamitsos is no exception. Although shipping is by far the most environmentally friendly mean of transportation, even this industry will have to accept its responsibilities and come up with smart solutions.
“The classification societies, with their technological expertise, are in a perfect position to take the lead. Together with the industry, you can bring forward innovative and workable solutions that will benefit all of us,” he concludes.