On the occasion of the forthcoming 83rd meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization, the Belgian Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association  is releasing a series of videos featuring maritime thought leaders from across its membership.

To start off the series is Yvan Vlaminckx, Managing Director of Fast Lines Belgium. Fast Lines is a 100% family-owned short-sea shipping Belgian company with a European reach. Anchored in a longstanding reputation of swift, secure, and professional service, Fast Lines is steered today by Yvan Vlaminckx and his partner Catrien Scheers.

It is easy for a successful family business to rest on its laurels, but Fast Lines, being an innovative Belgian shipping company, sets its sight on the future. Recently, it established a strategic partnership with SEAFAR, a leading provider of remote-controlled and unmanned shipping technologies, to implement innovative remote monitoring and control solutions for its coastal vessels.

With the historical debate that will soon take place at MEPC 83 on if and how countries around the world are going to decarbonise shipping, Yvan shares his views on what is really required.

“We must not forget that shipping is of extreme importance being crucial for world economy, therefore we must also decarbonise shipping,” says Yvan in the interview.

“To create a global level playing field, there is only one organisation that can do that, and that is the IMO.”

His words sum up the expectation of the whole industry, that is looking to the IMO to deliver this April 7.