IACS chair emphasises safety in first speech

Nick Brown was elected as the new chair of IACS in April for a period of 30 months. In his first speech in the role, he told journalists that work is underway on a long-term strategic roadmap to support the industry through decarbonisation.

“Everyone is talking about decarbonisation but very few people, if any, are talking about the impact of the transition on safety,” he said. “This is fundamental to IACS’s role as the primary technical advisor to the International Maritime Organisation. Through its work, IACS will continue to take a holistic risk-based approach to assure that the safety performance of the industry is maintained or improved.”

In line with the World Maritime Day theme ‘Seafarers: At the Core of Shipping’s Future’, Mr Brown shared that the human element is being written into IACS’s strategy as ‘IACS rules are based on a fit healthy competent crew being on board’.

He also said that a joint industry working group will be established to help assess regulatory needs and pointed to IACS’s support for the use of remote surveys to maintain global supply chains.

Finally, Mr Brown referenced the 178 publications released since January 2020, of which 21 were new, stating that IACS ‘keeps on top of the updates needed to ensure IACS instruments are responsive to technical, industrial and regulatory drivers’.