It has been a week where the world’s media has once again picked up on the vital role shipping plays in global trade.

With the Ever Given grounding in the Suez Canal we have seen a backlog of ships, with the potential that trade will be disrupted. The Suez Canal is one of the most logistically important waterways in the world. On average 52 ships / $3Bn of trade transit through the Canal every day.  The longer the ship is stuck, the bigger the impact on global markets. Our Director of Policy Peter Aylott has been on Sky News and Times Radio and our President John Denholm had the prime time slot on the Today Programme this morning. It is great to see the media once again turning to us as a trusted voice on an international shipping issue.

We have been working closely with our Ferry and Cruise members this week on the submissions to the Global Travel Taskforce. The Prime Minister has announced that the report will be published a week earlier than expected on 05 April and we will continue to work with the DfT and the Shipping Minister to press our case for the safe resumption of international travel.

I was delighted that this week we launched our Practical Guidance for Shipping Companies on improving Mental Health. It is an incredibly important document after lots of hard work from the team. Our newest Policy Manager Mel White has also written an incredibly powerful blog about her passion for mental wellbeing and her time working at sea. Please do give it a read.

Today we have also just launched our 2021 Journal. We have created a dedicated website for it so please take the time to read about all the great work the Chamber has been doing on behalf of the membership.

Finally this week I have to announce that I will be leaving the Chamber after three years to take up the role of CEO of Aberdeen Harbour Board in the late summer. In the meantime, I intend to continue to enjoy working with the best people across our great industry in such a terrific organisation, with so much work to be done in support of our members through the challenging times we are facing. The important business at the Chamber continues and, for the next few months my focus remains on Covid recovery and seeking out the opportunities of a cleaner, greener shipping industry.