With the ongoing military conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding region, the major disruption to global shipping has been at the forefront of ICS this past month. The International Chamber of Shipping expresses its strongest condemnation of the attacks against commercial vessels operating in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. These attacks have placed innocent seafarers in extreme danger, posing an unacceptable threat to their safety and the stability of global trade. Freedom of navigation is critical, and all States must ensure the safe passage of merchant vessels, prioritising the safety and welfare of the crew on board. We all hope for a quick and peaceful resolution to this crisis.

We have released multiple statements on this issue, including ICS Secretary General Thomas A. Kazakos’ statement at the International Maritime Organization Extraordinary Council Meeting (C/ES 36) and ICS Chairman Emanuele Grimaldi’s statement.

Our Secretariat have been participating in many events throughout the month. ICS’ Secretary General, Thomas A. Kazakos, firstly attended the 20^th anniversary Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) event at the International Labour Organization (ILO) Headquarters in Geneva on the 9^th of March. He spoke on the panel: ‘Delivering Impact on Seafarers’ Rights: the MLC 20 years on’, where he reaffirmed the shipping industry’s commitment to the MLC, explained that joint working delivers success, and expressed the view that seafarers should be key workers. Following this event, Thomas also spoke at the CMA Shipping Conference in Stamford, USA, where he participated in the panel ‘Maritime Horizons: Industry Landscape and Global Trade Priorities.’ The panel focused on the current maritime climate, discussing issues such as the Maritime Action Plan, the Middle East conflict, and decarbonisation, where Thomas shared the ICS’ priorities amid these struggles, being that of the seafarers and the erosion of the international regulatory framework.

ICS’ Technical Director, Chris Waddington, gave a presentation on ‘Holistic Improvement of Energy Efficiency and Underwater Radiated Noise’ (URN) at The Ship Energy Efficiency 2026 Conference on the 18^th. The presentation explored the synergy between Energy Efficiency and URN, and how this creates an opportunity to achieve URN reduction alongside GHG regulatory compliance measures, with illustrated examples. ICS’ Senior Legal Manager, Leyla Pearson, participated in a fireside chat, alongside Senior Claims Executive at the UK P&I Club, Kelly Donaldson, at Marine Insurance London on the 20^th. Titled: ‘Criminalisation of Seafarers: Going to Work Shouldn’t Mean Going to Jail’, the discussion delved into the issue of seafarers being unknowingly implicated in crime solely because of their status of being on board a ship. They examined the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new guidelines, which aim to prevent innocent people languishing in ports or jail, and how these may be enforced.

Members of our Marine team have been attending the International Maritime Organization (IMO) every fortnight for the Human Element, Training, and Watchkeeping (HTW 12) Sub-Committee and the Facilitation Committee (FAL 50). Following HTW 12, the Inter-Sessional Working Group began the critical second stage of reviewing the 1978 STCW Convention. This concluded with positive outcomes revolving around seafarer training, such as cyber security and ballast water management. To find out more, please speak with ICS’ Senior Manager – Crewing and Training, Arvind Natrajan.

ICS Academy has released a new module, titled Helicopter Operation Procedures for Ships: Assigning Roles and Responsibilities to the Ship’s Crew. This module provides crews with the latest guidance on standardised procedures and encourages safe and efficient performance, whilst detailing the responsibilities that the ship’s crew undertake during helicopter operations.

ICS has also released the fifth edition of its Guidelines on the Application of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention. This new edition provides the most up‑to‑date and practical guidance on the mandatory and recommended employment standards set by the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), bringing together all sets of amendments in one place for the first time. You can read the full press release about this publication, here.

At the beginning of the month, we officially closed submissions for the ICS Barometer Survey 2025/2026. ICS would like to offer a massive thank you to everyone that took part. The team are already working to collate initial findings for the full report which will be launched in June. To read last year’s Barometer report, please click here.

As March closes and we move forward into spring, we hope to see swift and peaceful resolutions to global volatility. We urge all States to take the necessary steps to ensure safe passage of vessels to keep global trade moving, and all those working on board safe.