European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) has urged the European Commission to make clear that regional shipping regulations will be withdrawn once a global decarbonisation framework is agreed at the International Maritime Organization.

ECSA president Mikki Koskinen made the remarks during a panel discussion at the Annual Capital Link Forum in Athens last week, where industry leaders examined regulatory approaches to the energy transition in shipping.

Koskinen said European measures should be explicitly positioned as temporary, pending the adoption of an international agreement at the IMO.

“Shipping requires one regulatory framework at international level and the withdrawal of the EU legislation, when an IMO agreement is adopted, is necessary,” he said during the session titled 'Net Zero Debate – Regulations and Energy Transition.'

He highlighted the scale of Europe’s role in global shipping, noting that European fleets account for around 35% of the world’s tonnage and move approximately 76% of the European Union’s external trade.

ECSA reiterated its commitment to the IMO process as the appropriate forum for setting global climate rules for shipping, rather than relying on regional regulatory regimes.

Koskinen also called for revenues generated through the EU Emissions Trading System to be directed towards accelerating the uptake of clean maritime technologies and fuels, and to help close the cost gap between conventional fuels and low- and zero-carbon alternatives.

The panel was moderated by John Kokarakis, Vice President Technology & Business Development Hellenic-BS-ME Zone at Bureau Veritas, and included contributions from Ioanna Procopiou, CEO of Prominence Maritime and Sea Traders, and Alfonso Castillero, CEO at LISCR.