DECARBONISATION, human sustainability and the benefits of global trade were at the forefront of discussions during the Global Maritime Forum 2022 Annual Summit last week.

Two-hundred-and-twenty leaders from across the maritime value chain attended the summit in New York City on 22 and 23 September.

Decision makers, thought leaders and industry experts worked together to “make sense of the rapidly changing world” and shape a sustainable future.

Global Maritime Forum chair Jan Dieleman said collaboration was needed to tackle increasingly complex and interdependent issues.

“The challenges facing the industry in the years to come are incredibly complex and will take a long time to resolve,” Mr Dieleman said.

“It will not be easy, and it will not be accomplished in silos. That is why we must and can do it together.”

A big discussion point at the summit was how shipping industry’s high ambitions for decarbonisation could be translated into tangible steps such as establishing green corridors.

The GMF said participants “sent a clear signal” that they were ready to move, but that the industry needs policy support to make the green transition economically viable as well as certainty that green fuels will be available.

Ocean Network Express CEO Jeremy Nixon encouraged the shipping industry to “keep going” and to double down on its efforts.

“We’ve got storm clouds on the global economy. Let’s not get blown off course, let’s keep the discipline and show that shipping can do it,” he said.

In a keynote speech, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development secretary general Rebeca Grynspan highlighted the role shipping has played in maintaining the flow of trade during the war in Ukraine.

“As I have highlighted, trade has an enormous role to play. And especially maritime trade. Despite all the challenges, maritime trade will become more, and not less, important in the years to come,” she said.

Another focal point of the summit was about taking steps to improve human sustainability in the maritime industry.

GMF said talent and workforce welfare emerged as a theme in broader discussions as participants recognised other challenges could only be overcome if human sustainability issues were addressed.

“Transport workers have become much more visible because of the pandemic,” International Transport Workers’ Federation general secretary Stephen Cotton said.

“We must learn the lessons of the pandemic, and we must be able to deliver the sustainability for the maritime professionals. It is critical that we keep up the pressure.”

The next GMF annual summit is scheduled to take place in Athens on 18 and 19 October 2023.