The second day of the Conference "Maritime Cyprus 2015" successfully kept the momentum that we have experienced in the previous day. Hundreds of distinguished participants from all around the globe, followed the proceedings of the second day of the Conference thus justifying its reputation as one of the most successful shipping conferences worldwide.
The second day of the Conference focused on the theme “The New Shipping “Environment”. The discussion examined some of the elements that influence the regulatory decisions in international shipping and addressed some of the key challenges the shipping industry is facing today in relation to the use of cyber-physical systems on board ships. The debate was divided into two sessions, the first session focused on the subject "Do Shipping people influence decisions?", while the second session focused on the subject "e-shipping”.
The first session of the debate relating to the subject “Do Shipping people influence decisions?” was moderated by Mr. Andreas Chrysostomou, Acting Director of the Department of Merchant Shipping, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works of the Republic of Cyprus. The panel was comprised of Mr. Paul Kyprianou, External Relations Manager of the Grimaldi Group, Mr. Pierre-Yves Cousteau, Member of the Board of the Cousteau Society, Mr. Peter Hinchliffe, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping and Mr. John Maggs, President of Clean Shipping Coalition. The distinguished panellists focused the debate on the regulatory decision making process giving particular attention to the participation and the influence of the maritime industry in the decision making process at the International Maritime Organization and the European Union. The panellists agreed that maritime industry can be influential in some occasions depending on the nature of the debate and the political decisions taken. The panellists expressed concern about some of the environmental decisions taken in relation to shipping during the last years and questioned the methodology followed in order to reach those decisions. The panellists further noted that the shipping industry should be proactive in adopting best practices. Additionally, the panellists indicated that coordinated actions should be taken to persuade public opinion that the shipping industry attributes great importance to environmental issues.
Subsequently, a discussion took place on "e-shipping”. Mr. Edwin Lampert, Group Managing Editor of the Riviera Maritime Media Ltd was the moderator for this discussion whereas the panel was comprised of Mr. Socrates Theodossiou, Managing Director of Tototheo Group, Mrs. Jacqueline Smith, Maritime Coordinator of the International Transport Workers' Federation, and Mr. Robert Giuffra, Chairman of General Policy Group of the International Association of Classification Societies. The panellists explored the impact of cyber-physical systems on board ships and how these systems affect navigation, seafarers, safety and security of the vessels. During the debate the panellists indicated that e-shipping should be ‘user needs led’ rather than led by technologists or regulators. Furthermore, the panellists indicated that the success of “e-navigation” will rely heavily upon the proper involvement of all parties concerned and in particular the seafarers throughout its development and implementation. Additionally, the panelists stressed out that the aim of "e-shipping” is not to replace the seafarers on board vessels, but to assist seafarers in taking more informative decisions thus making the ships safer and more efficient. Concluding, the panelists indicated that despite the advanced technological developments, "e-shipping” has not yet matured and further studies are required especially with regards to maintaining the cyber security which is vital for the ship and the port facilities.