The UK Chamber of Shipping is the trade association and voice of the UK shipping industry, representing around 200 member companies. They work with Government, parliament, international organisations and others to champion and protect the industry on behalf of their members.
They are one of the principal members of the International Chamber of Shipping. [1] Their headquarters are in Park Street, London. The Chamber promotes UK shipping around the world and often acts a source of maritime knowledge to the media.
The body is also responsible for working closely with the UK government, Maritime UK and Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The official publisher of the UK Chamber of Shipping is Witherby Seamanship. [2] The Merchant Navy Training Board is based at the UK Chamber's offices in London. [3]
The Chamber has its origins in 1878 when a national trade body for shipping was formed. The Chamber was granted a Royal Charter in 1920 and went through several names, being known as the General Council of British Shipping until 1992 when its current name was adopted. [4]
Sarah Treseder, a former Chief Executive of the Royal Yachting Association served as Chief executive of the Chamber between 2021 and 2024, having replaced Bob Sanguinetti. [5] [6] In April 2024, Rear Admiral Rhett Hatcher, former UK national hydrographer and deputy chief executive at the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office became chief executive. [7]
The UK Chamber hosts an annual maritime gala dinner at the JW Marriott Grosvenor Hotel in London. [14]
The International Maritime Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating maritime transport. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference held in Geneva in 1948 and the IMO came into existence ten years later, meeting for the first time on 17 March 1958. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, the IMO currently has 176 Member States and three Associate Members.
The British Merchant Navy is the collective name given to British civilian ships and their associated crews, including officers and ratings. In the UK, it is simply referred to as the Merchant Navy or MN. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and the ships and crew are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), a specialist agency of the UK Department of Transport. British merchant ships are registered under the UK or Red Ensign group ship registries. British Merchant Navy deck officers and ratings are certificated and trained according to STCW Convention and the syllabus of the Merchant Navy Training Board in maritime colleges and other training institutes around the UK.
William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC, PC (Ire) was a leading British shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland & Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as Lord Mayor of Belfast between 1896 and 1898. He was ennobled as Baron Pirrie in 1906, appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1908 and made Viscount Pirrie in 1921. In the months leading up to the 1912 Sinking of the Titanic, Lord Pirrie was questioned about the number of life boats aboard the Olympic-class ocean liners. He responded that the great ships were unsinkable and the rafts were to save others. This would haunt him forever. In Belfast he was, on other grounds, already a controversial figure: a Protestant employer associated as a leading Liberal with a policy of Home Rule for Ireland.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom that is responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent marine pollution. It is a subsidiary executive agency of the UK Department for Transport and responsible through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament. It is also responsible for land based search and rescue helicopter operations since 2015. Its motto is "Safer Lives, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas". The organisation is currently led by Virginia McVea.
Sir Robert Ropner, 1st Baronet was a German-British shipbuilder, shipowner, and Conservative Member of Parliament.
Nautical publications is a technical term used in maritime circles describing a set of publications, either published by national governments or by commercial and professional organisations, for use in safe navigation of ships, boats, and similar vessels. Other publications might cover topics such as seamanship and cargo operations. In the UK, the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, the Witherby Publishing Group and the Nautical Institute provide numerous navigational publications, including charts, publications on how to navigate and passage planning publications. In the US, publications are issued by the US government and US Coast Guard.
A merchant navy or merchant marine is the fleet of merchant vessels that are registered in a specific country. On merchant vessels, seafarers of various ranks and sometimes members of maritime trade unions are required by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) to carry Merchant Mariner's Documents.
James Lyle Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape,, known as Sir James Mackay from 1894 to 1911, was a British businessman and colonial administrator in India who became Chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company ("P&O") and founded Inchcape Retail Ltd.
A trunk deck ship is a type of merchant ship with a hull that was stepped inward in order to obtain more favourable treatment under canal toll rules then in effect. As those tolls were set by net tonnage, a measure of volume, and as the tonnage rules did not account for all of the cargo space of such vessels, trunk deck ships incurred lower tolls than more conventional ships of equivalent capacity. When the measurement rules were changed, the type was no longer built.
Witherby Publishing Group, formerly known as Witherby Seamanship, is a technical publisher of maritime, nautical and navigation training, reference and regulatory materials. The company is the resulting merger of Witherby Books and Seamanship International in January 2008. Beginning with its origins in 1740 it lays claim to being the oldest independent publisher in the English-speaking world.
The International Chamber of Shipping is one of the world's principal shipping organisations, representing around 80% of the world's merchant tonnage through membership by national shipowners' associations. It is concerned with maritime regulatory, operational and legal issues. Its membership includes over 40 national shipowner organisations.
The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) is one of the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners. BIMCO states that its membership represents approximately 60 percent of the world's merchant shipping tonnage and that it has members in more than 130 countries, including managers, brokers and agents. BIMCO states that its primary objective is to protect its global membership through the provision of information and advice, while promoting fair business practices and facilitating harmonisation and standardisation of commercial shipping practices and contracts.
A pilot ladder is a highly specialized form of rope ladder, typically used on board cargo vessels for the purposes of embarking and disembarking pilots. The design and construction of the ladders is tightly specified by international regulation under the SOLAS regime. Pilot ladders and other boarding arrangements must be carefully prepared for each operation, with the equipment inspected and verified as safe to use before each boarding takes place. Additional requirements relate to the use of man-ropes, platforms, accommodation ladders, combination ladders and securing methods.
The sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912 resulted in an inquiry by the British Wreck Commissioner on behalf of the British Board of Trade. The inquiry was overseen by High Court judge Lord Mersey, and was held in London from 2 May to 3 July 1912. The hearings took place mainly at the London Scottish Drill Hall, at 59 Buckingham Gate, London SW1.
Captain Roy Henry Stanbrook was Chief Executive of the Gibraltar Port Authority and Captain of the Port in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar before becoming the Harbour Master of the Port of Melbourne, Victoria in April 2014. His position prior to the 2012 appointment was that of Harbour Master for the Lower District of the Port of London Authority in the United Kingdom. He was succeeded by Gibraltarian Captain Bob Sanguinetti.
Helen Deeble CBE is a British businesswoman. She was the Chief Executive of P&O Ferries until December 2017, and was formerly President of the UK Chamber of Shipping.
The Merchant Navy Training Board is a voluntary body responsible for maritime training in the United Kingdom and for the training of the British Merchant Navy. The MNTB are based at the UK Chamber of Shipping office in London and publications are provided by the Witherby Publishing Group.
Charlotte Sarah Emily Vere, Baroness Vere of Norbiton is a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords. She also serves as a Parliamentary Secretary in HM Treasury and was executive director of the Girls' Schools Association from 2013 to 2016.
The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments is a 2004 international maritime treaty which requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with standards and procedures for the management and control of ships' ballast water and sediments. The Convention aims to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms from one region to another and halt damage to the marine environment from ballast water discharge, by minimising the uptake and subsequent discharge of sediments and organisms. From 2024, all ships are required to have approved Ballast Water Management Treatment System, according to the D2 standard. Existing ships are required to install an approved system, which may cost up to 5 million USD per ship to install. To assist with implementation, the IMO has released 14 Guidance documents in regards to the Convention including the G2 Guidelines for Ballast Water Sampling, G4 Guidelines for Ballast Water management and G6 Guidelines for Ballast Water Exchange. As of 15 July 2021, 86 countries were contracting States to the BWM Convention.
The International Code of the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk, often referred and abbreviated as the IGC Code, is the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standard concerning the cargo carriage of liquefied gases in maritime transport. The Code covers gases carried by gas carriers at sea and cargoes include liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.