Another Call to Arms – Maritime Needs a Voice

This week saw 300 shipowners and charterers come together to plead the case of mariners in our crew change crisis. Last October, we saw charterers come together to launch the Sea Cargo Charter and 18 months ago was the creation of the Poseidon Principles by the maritime financial community. All are extremely important and worthy endeavors which propel our industry forward in gaining traction and attention.

But what if each of these initiatives were able to access a global information dissemination platform to broadcast their efforts beyond industry to society and governments? How much more effective could we be if we were able to concentrate on the “what” and the “how” of the initiative instead of the mechanics of making it known?

During SHIPPINGInsight 20/20 there were multiple calls for the industry to collaborate around core issues. To move beyond commercial self-interest and align on areas which benefit all. Through the efforts described above, we are seeing this happen. Now let’s put the second piece in place.

I have proposed the creation of the Global Maritime Information Coalition, leveraging today’s communication tools along with a unification of the global maritime community. The Global Maritime Information Coalition will enable our industry to increase our visibility, communicate our value proposition, improve the public’s perception of our activities, and deliver targeted messages (such as the crew change crisis) to global society.

Key Objectives:

• Create a unified platform for the global maritime community
• Raise the awareness of the global maritime industry and its value amongst the public
• Improve society’s image of our sector
• Provide unified messaging about the industry
• Be a resource for governments to learn about the industry
• Act as a portal for groups to communicate with the maritime industry
• Inform students and the public about the opportunities available in the industry
• I am prepared to do this, and I invite you to join me.

I am prepared to do this, and I invite you to join me.

Keep Optimizing,

Carleen