AMBASSADOR CARLOS SALINAS: A forward-looking maritime policy

A forward-looking maritime policy
AMBASSADOR CARLOS SALINAS May 15, 2019 https://www.manilatimes.net/a-forward-looking-maritime-policy/554925/

Whether we are conscious of it or not, we live in a world that relies on a safe, secure and smooth-sailing shipping industry to keep functioning. It is not an exaggeration to say that shipping reflects the unity of human existence on this planet. For this reason, maritime transportation should be an essential component of any program for sustainable development.

With this in mind, IMO developed a road map as a guide for countries in their development of an efficient maritime transport system without losing sight of the environmental dimension that makes it sustainable.

A National Maritime Transport Policy is such a road map, a statement of principles and objectives to guide decisions in the maritime transport sector so as to achieve the maritime vision of a country and ensure that the sector is consistently governed in an efficient, safe and environmentally sound manner.

A policy starts from a vision of what the maritime industry should be. It should also be reviewable and updateable. A policy that is written in stone is static and will need congressional approval for any changes to take place.

A clear maritime vision must provide the guidelines and principles that would help our country achieve its maritime goals leading to economic development by fostering trade.Without it, we cannot reach our objectives for the long term, “long term” being the operative words.

The maritime vision of a country should be wide and varied and should encompass both shipping interests and ocean interests. If we were to look at just the shipping interests, the range of goals can include safety, security, pollution prevention, environmental protection, port management, investments and incentives, competition, cabotage, access to markets, and maritime administration, to name a few. The list can go on and on depending on what interests need to be supported, developed or protected.

No one person or agency can create this vision and prepare the policy. We need the concerted effort of multiple stakeholders to achieve it. The word “concerted” is important. It is more than coming together, more than combining efforts, more than group work, more than gathering, more than assembling. “Concert” is from the French word “concerter,” or from the Italian “concertare,” meaning to “harmonize.” These stakeholders include government departments and agencies, together with the private sector, including ship owners which can be as varied as liner operators and passenger ferry owners; unions, educational institutions and training centers, port operators, ship designers and builders, class societies, insurance companies and P&I clubs, and logistics operators — each with its own participation and engagement in the industry. All of these must come together and coordinate, blend, balance, and act in harmony, each group contributing to the process and striking the right notes.

Having a national maritime transport policy will help us focus better on the needs of our country. It will help us discern what infrastructure is needed, what investments and incentives should be put in place, what conventions must be ratified, and what administrative procedures would be necessary to ensure effective implementation and enforcement.

The national maritime transport policy will help us determine how to structure and dovetail the two sides of the maritime industry — the regulatory side and the commercial side — and be able to find a framework of governance without hampering business. At the end of the day, what would be most important is to have a structure that will allow us to develop a vibrant, competitive, predictable and sustainable business environment that will ensure continuity beyond the present generation and allow the country to have the tools it needs to become an even more effective participant in the global maritime sector.

The long-term benefits for us as a country would include economic growth, job generation, poverty alleviation, access to markets, maritime connectivity and efficiency, and marine environment protection. A truly forward-looking maritime policy reflects the inextricable connection between the ocean and world civilization.