This May, we celebrated the International Day for Women in Maritime, seeing the maritime industry globally come together and acknowledge the accomplishments of women in maritime, continuing to strive for a more diverse and inclusive industry. We would like to further salute all the women working in maritime in the May edition of this blog.

As I begin to discuss some of the accomplishments of our secretariat this month, I would firstly like to say that the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) was pleased to announce that the Polish Shipping Association joined the association as a Full Member. The Polish Shipping Association will join the ICS Board and Committees, further enhancing international collaboration and strengthening ICS’ role as the global unified voice of shipowners. To read the full press release, please click here.

With 2026 starting out as a turbulent year for seafarers across the globe, ICS has been working on some free resources to help assist the safety and well-being of those on board and at sea. Firstly, alongside the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), we have released a revised Rescue Guide which is now available to download, here. The Rescue Guide underlines the continued relevance and life-saving impact of practical protection action, such as rescuing people in distress at sea, including refugees and migrants, and ensuring safe disembarkation in line with international law. In addition, our Employment Affairs team have created an updated Support Helplines Poster for Seafarers Impacted by Conflict in the Middle East. The Marine team, alongside industry associations of BIMCO, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO, IMCA, and OCIMF, have also provided updated navigational guidance for the Strait of Hormuz, which can be downloaded here.

Whilst these resources are all freely available to download, our publications team have additionally released the long-awaited Sixth Edition of the Tanker Safety Guide (Chemicals). This new edition of the Guide continues to translate the regulatory requirements of MARPOL Annex II into practical on board procedures for safe and environmentally responsible operations.

Several events have been happening throughout May, including an exciting visit that our Secretary General, Thomas Kazakos, and Policy Advisor, Melissande Cathélaz, took to Panama as they attended the Maritime Convention of the Americas. The trip involved many meetings, including one with H.E. José Raúl Mulino, the President of the Republic of Panama. Thomas delivered the keynote speech during the Plenary Session – Securing Global Trade and Maritime Transportation in an Age of Uncertainty, which shed light on the most prevalent issues in our industry whilst emphasising Panama’s influential role in global trade and reminding us of the importance of cooperation as we face the challenges in our industry. To commemorate the International Day for Women in Maritime, ICS’ Director of Employment Affairs, Helio Vicente, joined the ‘Powering Maritime Excellence’ panel at WISTA UK’s Women in Maritime day event with NYK Group Europe Ltd, where he focused on how leaders can turn ‘policy into practice’ to achieve shipping’s sustainability commitments. Additionally, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee meeting (MSC 111) took place, with members of our Marine team contributing. Finally, we hosted our webinar on ‘On Board Carbon Capture and Storage,’ (OCCS) as a new pathway to achieve compliance with greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations. The panel was formed of experts on OCCS who have produced a new study, commissioned by ICS, The recording of the webinar is now up on our YouTube channel, and a full write-up on the highlights can be read on our website, here.

Before concluding this month’s blog, May has seen an exciting development as a result of a long process of hard work from our Senior Legal Manager, Leyla Pearson. Alongside BIMCO, we welcomed into force the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sale of Ships, also known as the Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships. This marks a significant step forward for legal certainty in international maritime trade. To read more about this milestone, please click here.