What is ICS?
What are the current pressures on
The world is a family, and all humankind are brothers and sisters. International  Chamber of Shipping Representing the Global Shipping Industry Contribution by Esben Poulsson International Chamber of Shipping commercial organisations on problems, presenting mutual interests both for its members and for these organisations; to participate in the work of other international organizations to that degree which may be necessary for solving problems that they face." The objectives of this 1948 statute have served ICS and its members very well over the years as they perfectly describe the role that ICS fulfills today. ICS now has 35 member national shipowners' associations plus 10 associate members. This strong, vocal and committed membership body represents more than 80% of the world's internationally trading fleet. ICS serves the needs of its members through observer status at all of the specialist agencies of the United Nations that have an impact on shipping and maritime trade and through engagement wherever there is a debate on the role and future of the international shipping industry. ICS collates the views of the national association members through a sophisticated committee and sub-committee structure that covers pan-industry issues, as well as a number of sector specific panels. The main function of the panels is to ensure that the internal debate at higher levels has full oversight of the potential for upcoming measures to impact disproportionately on a particular sector. The carefully considered views and policies of ICS then form the basis for the positions espoused and promoted by the ICS secretariat and by ICS members at events and discussions worldwide. The majority of the secretariat's time is spent representing the position of the global industry at meetings of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London and International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva. ICS has a special regional partnership with the European Community Shipowners' Associations in Brussels and Asian Shipowners' Association in Singapore. This relationship helps ICS to continue to promote one single voice of opinion across the global industry. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) was established in 1921 (originally as the ‘International Shipping Conference’) when representatives of national shipowners' associations from what were then the world's leading maritime countries came together to discuss shipping matters of mutual interest. To a large extent this was prompted by the implementation by governments of the first Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, which had been adopted just before the outbreak of the First World War in response to the loss of the Titanic. ICS was re-established in 1948 in order to "promote and act on an international scale in the interests of its members; to organize the exchange of opinions and formulate policy by means of addressing the governments of the members' shipping companies; to cooperate with other engineering, industrial or international shipping? Shipping is famous for the cyclical nature of the business of maritime trade; shipping is a service industry that is influenced by so many factors that are entirely out of its control and by some that should be more controllable. The demand for maritime cargo capacity is a function of the state of the global economy that shipping serves and this was dramatically evidenced during the global economic problems of 2008 and thereafter. However, even in 2017, the industry continues to struggle with the impacts of overcapacity. There are still simply too many ships trying to serve a demand that has not grown at the rate experienced prior to 2008. It would seem self-evident that the supply of capacity should be in the control of the industry itself but this does not seem to be entirely the case. Shipowners are under regulatory pressure to operate the most modern, most efficient and most environmentally friendly ships available, and shipyards have been able to offer attractive prices to support that need. Similarly, shipowners are under commercial pressure to offer charterers and cargo owners maximum efficiency through fuel efficient ships. There are signs that slowly the current very low freight rates may be recovering and that the removal of older ships for recycling may have an impact on overcapacity, but it does not seem that the recovery will be either quick or dramatic. These are bleak commercial times for shipowners. The bleak outlook has not been helped by the coincidence of the entry into force of perhaps the most costly new regulations to have ever been adopted at IMO. Specifically, the most demanding new regulations are the Ballast Water Management Convention and the global change to low sulphur fuel required in 2020 in accordance with Annex VI of the IMO MARPOL Convention. The Ballast Water Convention has been beset with problems ever since the adoption of its text in 2004; problems that had everything to do with its aspirational approach that required ships to fit treatment equipment that was simply not available on the date of adoption. The lack of technology to treat ballast water in the quantity and to the timescale required is something that vexed the industry and flag States for many years and directly contributed to the very slow progress toward ratification and entry into force. In later years it has been the capital cost of buying equipment (around $1-5 million per ship), the complexity of system installation that usually requires a dry docking, and a lack of confidence in the performance of systems that were available that has been the main focus. Throughout the whole period from before 2004, ICS has been deeply engaged in trying to first arrive at a workable Convention and then later to propose changes to improve the original intent of the Convention and its Guidelines. The most vigorous attention has been devoted to having the original type approval requirements upgraded to provide the much needed confidence in equipment performance.  However, despite all very best efforts, the requirements of the Convention continue to pose problems that are still being worked through. IMO has decided that in 2020 the sulphur content of marine fuel will be dramatically reduced to 0.5% globally, or alternatively, that ships must fit exhaust gas scrubbing equipment to meet the same standard. ICS believes that, initially at least, the majority of ships will opt to use low sulphur fuel rather than fit yet another piece of expensive equipment. However, there is a significant cost increase to be considered when switching from Heavy Fuel Oil to low sulphur distillate. ICS is continuing to engage at IMO to establish the best possible transition to the new reduced sulphur limit to give the industry much greater certainty on the implementation requirements. In the near future ICS expects that there will be new CO2 reduction requirements that will be imposed through legislation. The biggest battle at the moment is to keep any new regulation on a global basis and to resist the growing tendency for regional regulation which is inefficient and causes significant implementation problems for owners and operators. It is not the first time that the shipping industry has had to cope with difficult and expensive regulation and low freight rates, but perhaps the current coincidence of the two is creating greater upheaval than has been experienced before. Despite these challenges, WMU students will still experience a demanding and exciting career on return to their roles in industry or in their maritime administration. The broad basis of the WMU curriculum will equip them well to drive the industry in its return to greater profitability. These are exciting times as new technology and new demands for near zero emission ships start to shape the future development of shipping and the structure of the industry.
CS Committee Structure

Koichi Kato Former Deputy Director-General for Engineering Affairs, Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan I have been involved in the administration of ship safety for a long time at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is said that we live in an age of innovation, and the maritime industry is no exception. It cannot be expected to achieve sound development without innovation in technology. At the same time, the introduction of new technology and building of larger vessels requires careful measures that provide for the acceptance of these insofar as safety allows, without the loss of their benefits. Indeed, there have been times when a new, previously unnoticed risk became evident only after the occurrence of an accident. When this happens, immediate countermeasures are essential. Safety measures can be broadly divided into five types. The most difficult of these is the "elimination" of an existing hazard. In this case, however, the benefits of technology may also be lost. Therefore, "mitigation" of the hazard (reduction in danger) to a sufficient level where accidents can be prevented may be considered. "Isolation" and "control" (including inspections and monitoring) are also effective. The most moderate approach is "precaution." After the Industrial Revolution, steam boats became popular, and human race enjoyed its benefits. However, after the accident of the RMS Titanic in 1912, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) was established in 1933. This convention provides for measures to mitigate and monitor hazards, including the installation of a watertight bulkhead and a sufficient number of lifeboats, as well as the monitoring of icebergs. After World War II, demand for oil increased significantly, and tanker transport grew in tandem with demand. In a matter of time, however, a number of large-scale oil spill accidents involving tankers occurred in succession in the United Kingdom, the United States and France, and led to the establishment of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in 1983. Under this convention, a measure was adopted to reduce the capacity of an individual cargo oil tank as a means of oil spill mitigation (reduction) at the time of an accident. As shown in Fig. 1, the volume of oil spills from oil tanker accidents during the 1970s was as high as 200,000 to 300,000 tons a year. After the convention came into effect, however, the volume gradually declined. Nevertheless, in 1989, when the Exxon Valdez accident occurred after that vessel ran aground, the bottom of the ship suffered raking damage, therefore, a lot of oil spilled from many tanks. As a result, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) revised MARPOL, which stipulated that isolation measures be adopted in the form of a double hull in newly constructed tankers. Moreover, in the Exxon Valdez accident, it was revealed that the Captain had been intoxicated. In 1998, a control (monitoring) measure known as the ISM Code for safety management became mandatory. From around this time, the volume of oil spills during accidents decreased drastically. Around the year 2000, however, accidents involving rusty single-hull tankers, which broke up on the open sea, occurred twice in succession. IMO again revised MARPOL and decided on the year 2010 as the deadline for full phase-out of shingle-hull tankers from the market. The sole purpose of this measure was to eliminate hazards (old tankers). Fig. 1 shows the absence of significant oil spill accidents since 2010. At the same time, the problem of old ships was not limited to tankers. During the 1990s, accidents involving the sinking of bulk carriers due to corrosion occurred one after another. Historically, the structure rules for ships have been entrusted to classification societies. However, after this series of accidents, confidence in classification societies wavered, and IMO revised SOLAS and took measures to directly evaluate or "control (monitor)" the rules of classification societies. SOLAS, in light of lessons learned from various accidents and responses to new technology such as the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and the International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft, was revised repeatedly a total of 50 times. Fig. 2 shows the changes in the number of victims or missing people at sea around Japan. While there were some years during the 1950s when more than 2,500 people lost their lives at sea annually, the number has steadily declined, and in recent years, has dwindled to about 50 people per annum. The reason IMO was able to adopt such effective measures as described above is the fact that SOLAS and MARPOL can be easily revised. In the past, there were serious problems with revisions of SOLAS, which were never brought into effect. What solved this problem was a simple procedure for the revision of treaties called the "tacit method." This is an excellent tool which automatically brings into effect proposed amendment once they are adopted, unless there are a certain number of objections. A convention in which the tacit method is introduced is very rare in other areas, and it can be considered an indispensable treasure for the maritime field. I think that we have a mission to use this excellent tool to maximize the benefits of innovation and, at the same time, to maintain and improve maritime safety.
Luis Alberto Arroz Secretary-General The Latin American Agreement on Port State Control of Vessels was adopted by Resolution No. 5 of the 6th Meeting of the Operative Net- work for Regional Cooperation among Maritime Authorities of South America, Cuba, Mexico and Panama (ROCRAM), held on November 5, 1992. The Agreement was originally subscribed by Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, thus a major international step was taken, since this was the first developing region to reach this sort of operational agreement. At present, the Viña del Mar agreement is formed by the follow- ing full Members: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. The signature of the Viña del Mar Agreement, as it is known worldwide, is particularly impor- tant since it lays the foundations for closer coop- eration among Maritime Authorities to coordi- nate supervision measures on foreign vessels calling at regional ports, in light of the require- ments set forth in enforceable international trea- ties regarding maritime safety and security, crew members training and certification, and the prevention of sea and river pollution by ships. Its main spirit and purpose are based on the commitment assumed by the Maritime Authori- ties in the region to maintain an efficient inspec- tion system that guarantees, without discrimina- tion as to flag, that all foreign ships visiting their ports comply with the regulations established by International Conventions. Its structure rests mainly on two essential bodies: the Committee of the Agreement and the Secre- tariat, including in the latter the Information Center (CIALA). The Secretariat of the Viña del Mar Agreement on Port State Control has its head office at the Maritime Authority of Argentina headquarters, Prefectura Naval Argentina, in Avenida Madero 235, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.
TEXT OF THE VIÑA DEL MAR AGREEMENT
The Text is the official document in which fifteen participating Maritime Authorities agreed on the implementation of a harmonized system of Port State Control. All the information associated with the Agreement is available in the following link: http://sites.prefecturanaval.gov.ar/ Some of the information accessible at this website is: - Members and authorities: http://alvm.prefecturanaval.gob.ar/cs/Satellite?c =Page&cid=1453145534829&pagename=CIA LA%2FPage%2FtemplateSeccionCialaFULLT EXT - Operational contacts: http://alvm.prefecturanaval.gob.ar/cs/Satellite?c =Page&cid=1457036907922&pagename=CIA LA%2FPage%2FtemplateSeccionCialaFULLT EXT - Secretariat Members: http://alvm.prefecturanaval.gob.ar/cs/Satellite?c =Page&cid=1457036894866&pagename=CIA LA%2FPage%2FtemplateSeccionCialaFULLT EXT - Inspections: http://alvm.prefecturanaval.gob.ar/cs/Satellite? c=Page&cid=1458587589611&pagename=CI ALA%2FPage%2FtemplateIframe
INSPECTION PROCEDURES
The inspection is performed by qualified person- nel authorized by the Maritime Authority. The visit starts with a check on: • Safety certificates and vessel documentation • Log books • Minimum Safety Manning Document • Crew Competence Certificates • A general inspection to determine the vessel condition If the vessel does not have the certificates on board or if there is clear evidence of a deficiency, a more detailed inspection is performed. If deficiencies pose a risk to safety or the marine environment, the vessel is detained and the master has to rectify the deficiencies before being allowed to sail. Moreover, the vessel flag state is informed of the measures taken. During an inspection where deficiencies are detected, a notification letter with an identifying number is generated. It is possible to attach docu- mentary evidence that supports the deficiencies rectification through the CIALA website provided.
Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding
Dilip Mehrotra Secretary-General South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Yemen. The At the invitation of the Secretary General of the Memorandum came into effect on April 1, 1999. International Maritime Organisation, and with a generous offer from the Government of India to The Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understand- ing (IOMOU) Secretariat is based in Goa and is host the meeting, the first preparatory meeting on the developing of flag and port State capabilities governed by and accountable to the Committee of   Secretariat and the shipping industry. IOCIS in the Indian Ocean rim was held from October the IOMOU on Port State Control. It services the 13-17, 1997, in Mumbai. A draft Memorandum, Committee meetings and assists the Committee in its activities. The IOMOU Secretariat is headed by drawn up at this meeting, was subsequently final- ized between June 1-5, 1998, in Pretoria, during a   the Secretary, Mr. Dilip Mehrotra, who is assisted second preparatory and signatory meeting hosted   by Data Processor cum Office Assistant Mrs. Priyanka Sawant, Office Assistant Mrs. Milan by the Government of South Africa. The Memo- Sawant, and Data Management Assistant Ms. randum was kept open for signature at the Head- Sushmita Naik. quarters of the Secretariat in Goa, India, from June 5, 1998 to January 22, 1999. The first Com- A total of 6253 inspections were carried out in mittee meeting of the MOU took place in Goa 2015. The top five frequent deficiencies were region towards 'safe, secure and efficient shipping from January 20-22, 1999. As of September 2013, Safety of navigation, Fire safety, Lifesaving appli- seventeen countries have become parties to the   ances, Emergency systems, Water/Weathertight Memorandum: Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, conditions, and the detention rate for the year Eritrea, France, India, Iran, Kenya, Maldives, 2015 was 5.60%. "Indian Ocean Computerized Information Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Sri Lanka, System (IOCIS)" is an integrated system that supports Port State Control related activities of the PSC Officers and Field/National Authorities (FA/NA) of member countries, the IOMOU facilitates online filling of inspection reports and access to PSC information from any part of the world. Facilities of queries & the bulletin board help in the exchange of messages and notifica- tions between individuals/authorities. Instant availability of PSC information enables maritime Authorities to ensure quick compliance of IMO guidelines and timely identification and elimina- tion of substandard ships from the Indian Ocean on cleaner oceans'. During the 19th Committee Meeting, the Committee decided on the theme of CIC for 2017 as "Safety of Navigation" along with the Paris MOU and Tokyo MOU.
Hideo Kubota (Secretary, Tokyo MOU Secretariat)
Outlines of the Tokyo MOU
Pursuant to IMO Assembly Resolution A.682 (17) on regional co-operation on Port State Control (PSC), the Government of Japan recognized the importance of regional co-operation on PSC in the Asia-Pacific region and convened the first preparatory meeting in Tokyo in February 1992. As a result of deliberations of several preparatory meetings (Fig.1), the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region (Tokyo MOU) was concluded and signed in Tokyo, Japan, on December 1, 1993. The member Authorities of the Tokyo MOU at present are 20 Authorities. In addition to these, we have one co-operating member, 6 observer Authorities and 7 observers from intergovernmental organizations (Fig.2). The permanent Secretariat is located in Tokyo, Japan, and the information center (APCIS) is located in Moscow, the Russian Federation.
Recent developments
In the past 23 years, the Tokyo MOU has made a lot of achievements, which include the following recent developments: - Increase of number of inspections (Almost 4 times compared with 1994) (Fig.3); - Descending trend of detention rate (Fig.3) - Introduction of the New Inspection Regime in 2014 to award ships of good quality and to target ships of higher risk (Fig.4); - Publication of Under-performing ships, which have been detained three or more times at the Port State Control inspections in the Tokyo MOU region during the last 12 months (Fig.5); and - Development of the harmonized policy on joint Concentrated Inspection Campaigns with the Paris MOU. Fig.5 Number of individual under-performing ships Inter-regional cooperation and harmonization of procedures Since its inception, the Tokyo MOU has closely followed the practices of the Paris MOU, and has adopted their procedures and practices where suitable to do so in the Asia-Pacific region. The most significant events were Joint Ministerial Conferences on Port State Control held in Vancouver in 1997 and 2004, hosted by Canada, which is a member of both the Tokyo MOU and the Paris MOU. Most actions later discussed and decided by the PSC Committee were addressed in these Declarations. In May 2017, the Third Joint Ministerial Conference was held in Vancouver and both Memoranda would take necessary measures for required actions in the Ministerial Declaration adopted.
Technical Co-operation
The Tokyo MOU, from its inception, has paid special attention to the education and training of Port State Control Officers (PSCOs), bearing in mind that capacity for conducting PSC was in very early stages of development in many Authorities in the region. For that purpose, the strategic plan for training PSCOs was developed and training activities started from 1995. Table 1 Technical Co-operation Programme (2016-2020) The current five-year programme (Table 1) includes a variety of courses corre- sponding to the needs of the member Authorities. To date, more than 3,000 TCP Purpose PSCOs in the region have participated in the programme. The Nippon Foundation General Training Course has continued to support these activities generously from the start, fully recognizing their importance.
Acknowledgment
I would like to express my gratitude to the editors for giving me a chance to intro- duce our activities, and I would be delighted if the readers showed interest in them. Due to a page limit, I wasn't able to offer a detailed description, so if you would like to get more information, please visit our website ( http://www.tokyo-mou.org/ ).
Ore Ovia Toua (Papua New Guinea, 2014) The International Conference for Maritime Energy Management at the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden from January 24–25, 2017, attracted many industrial players, ranging from academics, professionals, experts, shipping companies, policy makers, and researchers. The conference aimed to provide an avenue to discuss trends, challenges and development pertaining to the energy component of the maritime sector. The conference at the same time provided an opportunity for the sector to aim for an energy efficient and low carbon future for the maritime industry. The Pacific Community (SPC)  joined the World Maritime University and co-presented "The Role of Maritime Transport sector from the perspective of energy and gender; the case of Pacific Region" under the sub-theme "Social and Human Dimensions of Energy Management" at the conference. The presentation discussed the sustainable use of energy from a feminist perspective and focused on the role of the maritime transport sector in terms of energy access for rural women as users of maritime transport. In many parts of the world, the priorities of energy use tend to be gendered. Women at most times are often excluded from access. In the Pacific Region, where adequate recycling facilities and markets are not easily accessible, waste is a big concern for the environment. The emerging concept of a 'circular economy' to close the loop of product lifecycles poses a challenge but is also an opportunity for many Pacific Region communities. For example, some rural women entrepreneurs found a business chance in waste management to participate in circular economy. One of their biggest obstacles, however, was access to ships to transport collected recyclable items (e.g., used batteries) to recycling facilities overseas. In this paper, we argued whether the gendered nature of maritime transport could be limiting their capacity to provide services to minority users like women and what would be the role of the maritime transport sector to support women's contribution to establishing a sustainable, energy efficient society. small populations on remote islands, non-economical shipping routes, and the high cost of shipping and high dependency on fossil fuels. The presentation concluded that a missing link between women's economic participation and the maritime transport sector to enable sustainable development of the Pacific Region should be recognised as part of the energy and gender agenda as well as an unexplored field of research. SPC is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, proudly supporting development since 1947. It is an international development organisation owned and governed by our 26 country and territory members.
VTS Operator Training in Japan
Thanatip Jantarapakde (Thailand, 1998) From February 13-17, 2017, as Chief of the VTS section of the Marine Department of Thailand, I attended the Third ASEAN-JAPAN Regional Meeting on VTS Operator Training at the Japan Coast Guard (JCG). The Background and Objectives of the meeting were as follows: In the ASEAN region, an increase in maritime traffic is expected. Therefore, in order to promote more efficient maritime traffic management, JCG invited experts from VTS authorities in the ASEAN region and International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) to the 1st ASEAN-JAPAN Regional Meeting on VTS Operator Training in Oct. 2014. The participants decided on a "Draft Strategic Plan" and recognized that the establishment of an ASEAN regional training center for VTS operators was necessary. JCG then held the 2nd ASEAN-JAPAN Regional Meeting in Nov. 2015, where a "Draft Implementation Plan” was decided upon. In accordance with this plan, the project to establish an ASEAN regional training center for VTS operators is proceeding in Malaysia by making use of Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). The third and last meeting in the series was also hosted by JCG. ASEAN countries agreed to post trainees in regional training centers at their home VTS, and to conduct OJT (on the job training) according to the international standard V103/3 and accredit the certification of VTS operators. The objective of this meeting was to discuss, confirm and share ways of planning, implementing and evaluating OJT in order to support the continuous capacity building of VTS operators based on the international standard in ASEAN countries. In addition, the results of this meeting will be summarized as an outline of capacity building of VTS operators and will be reported to the ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group. As the manager of Sriracha VTS in Thailand, I gained a lot of knowledge from this meeting, as well as furthering friendships with ASEAN members, with whom we have an excellent VTS network. More importantly, we also had a chance to meet Mr. Kudo, who was a special guest at the reception dinner hosted by Japan Aids to Navigation Association (JANA) on February 15. I would like to thank the JCG members who organized this excellent and well-planned meeting, and I greatly appreciated the kindness and warmth of the Japanese people during our stay in Tokyo and Nagano. I wish to come back to this lovely country again. Arigato gozaimasu.
Director General
Indian Coast Guard
hosts Dr. Sasakawa
Anish Hebbar (India, 2006) It was indeed a great honour and immense plea- sure to host His Excellency, Dr. Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, at the Indian Coast Guard Headquarters in New Delhi on January 31, 2017. It is always a proud privilege to be associated with Dr. Sasakawa, who is humility personified and has devoted his entire life to the cause of human rights and human dignity around the world. He is humble despite having been bestowed with a host of honorary degrees from universities in many countries, including the U.S., U.K., China and even India; awarded with the highest honours by many nations and organisa- tions across the globe; and offered several distin- guished professional positions, including most notably the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination We in India are particularly grateful for the wonderful work being done by the Sasakawa- India Leprosy Foundation over the past ten years. The earnest support to this noble cause and personal indulgence by none other than the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India speaks volumes about the contribution of The Nippon Founda- tion and the significance India attaches to the work being done by the Foundation in the most remote corners of our country. We in the Indian Coast Guard especially acknowledge with heartfelt gratitude the immea- surable and most noble contribution of His Excellency Dr. Sasakawa in capacity building of our institution, towards our common aim of serv- Foundation under the Chairmanship of Dr. Sasakawa has sponsored twelve officers of the Indian Coast Guard as Fellows at the World Maritime University, Sweden. Dr. Sasakawa's deep sense of empathy and unflinching desire to serve mankind has universal appeal. Maritime education initiatives are but a small measure of a larger canvas of his noble deeds in a lifetime devoted entirely to the cause of humanity. A spontaneous offer of a faculty posi- tion in Japan to an Indian Coast Guard officer during discussions at our Headquarters was yet another reflection of his spirit of capacity building assistance. The evening reception at the Indian Coast Guard Headquarters on January 31, 2017 was a follow-up to the courtesy call by Director General Rajendra Singh, PTM, TM, Director General Indian Coast Guard (DGICG) on Dr. Sasakawa, during the welcome address by the Director General, Dr. Sasakawa spoke of the importance of initiatives for the maritime fraternity in particular, and humanity in general. Afterwards, a brief presenta- tion was made highlighting the role and functions of the Indian Coast Guard and its key achieve- ments. The visit provided an opportunity for six WMU Sasakawa Fellows of the Indian Coast Guard to meet with Dr. Sasakawa. The Fellows presented Dr. Sasakawa with a shawl, which is traditionally offered as a mark of respect to a distinguished luminary, and Dr. Sasakawa very kindly and thoughtfully reciprocated with a personal gift for each of the Fellows. The maiden mutual visits not only facilitated the sharing of views and experiences on maritime cooperation but also contributed to a deeper understanding of each other's organisations and work, besides establishing personal bonds of friendship. After all, common beliefs bind us together as one. Dr. Sasakawa's words penned in the visitors' book of the DGICG, "The world is one family, we are all brothers and sisters," are very similar to the Indian belief in "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakan," which means "the whole world is one family."
Annual Maritime Power Conference of
the National Maritime Foundation of India on “The Blue Economy: Concept, Constituents and Developmen Imali Manikarachchi (Sri Lanka, 2014) In February this year, I had the privilege to participate as a guest speaker at the above conference. It was an honor to receive the invitation from the conference organizers, who had recognized me as a WMU alumnus with an academic background in Marine Environmental Management and Blue Economy. The event was graced by the presence of the Honorable State Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mr. Rajiv Prathap Rudy. I made a presentation on "Marine Spatial Planning and Ocean Ecology: Prospects and Lessons for the Indian Ocean", based on the paper that I submitted to the NMF journal. This is a topic which has gained worldwide attention as a tool to implement sustainable Blue Economic strategies. The purpose of Marine Spatial Planning is to plan and manage conflicting ocean uses and their interactions with the marine ecosystems. Marine Spatial Planning allocates space for marine-based industries and activities to fulfill the demand for marine-based goods and services, while facilitating environmental conservation by imposing regulatory and management measures. This reduces cross-sector conflicts, enables proactive decision-making and safeguards valuable ecosystem services. In my presentation, I explained how the processes of Marine Spatial Planning could be implemented in the Indian Ocean Region with respect to the prevailing potentials and challenges. Being able to participate in this conference was a great experience since I met many stakeholders who play important roles in their national and regional Blue Economics I'm one of the two women presenters to have been invited as speakers. The limited number of women participants in maritime conferences raises another important point that more females should be encouraged to join. Most of the delegates that I met had a very good impression of WMU and its work. I extend my sincere gratitude to Prof. Larry Hildebrand of WMU, who was kind enough to proofread my conference paper and helped me produce quality work at this very important event.
Happy Marriage
Imali Manikarachchi  (Sri Lanka, 2014) Fellowship, and he received a Belgian Government It is with great pleasure that I announce my marriage to the most amazing person that I've ever known. His   scholarship to do our Masters. He even visited me in name is Hashan Niroshana and he is currently working Sweden two times and became friends with many of my as an Oceanography lecturer at the University of  WMU colleagues. We invited a couple of my WMU Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. We met in 2006 as university batch friends to our wedding and were humbled to see the mates and fell in love with each other after a couple of   presence of my S14 batch mates and good friends Yuichi dates.  We've been partners for the last eleven years   Monji with his lovely wife, and Nilantha Piyadasa. Our before we tied the knot on May 11, 2017. We are so journey has certainly not been a smooth one. We have lucky to work in almost the same fields of interest, which   faced many ups and downs, but we have managed to makes our professions a lot more easy. He was studying survive against all odds. I extend my sincere thanks to all for his Masters at the University of Ghent in Belgium,   my WMU friends who wished us good luck on our while I was at WMU from 2013 to 2014. On the same   wedding day through emails and social media. day, we got the good news that I received a Sasakawa
Newborn for My Family
Surasak Changjul (Thailand, 2015) Greetings from Thailand to all Sasakawa Fellows! I with all of you in this newsletter, just as I have enjoyed have the pleasure to inform you that my family has had   reading your articles from around the world. The our first baby. Our wonderful adventures began the   Sasakawa Fellowship has given me opportunities evening of February 10 when he was born. My world   through the maritime network by contacting many was changed to a new path. Our son is an amazing Fellows and alumni of WMU anywhere in the world. I being, who already captured our love once we saw him in   would like to encourage any Fellows who haven't written the Delivery Suite. His name is "Chullajak Changjul". In  yet to contribute an article so that we can all share in Thai culture, a baby nickname has to be chosen which is   your experiences. Lastly, being part of the Sasakawa Family and having completely different from his or her name. So, we chose "Benzine," which means "fast ignition." I think my son   earned my master's degree at WMU has given me the may be a very hot guy in the future. chance to be a lecturer in the maritime field at the We have adjusted our lifestyles to take care of our   Marine Department Ministry of Transport of Thailand. baby.  For example, I now immediately go home after   I have shared what I learned from many professors at finishing work, but my son has already slept for almost WMU with my colleagues. It is great to be a Sasakawa all of my working day. I am so happy to share my joy Fellow!
Sasakawa Fellows: Indispensable to the Maritime World
We sent our new Directory of the WMU Sasakawa Fellows to ALL SASAKAWA FELLOWS with the 58th Newsletter. The Directory is a list of Fellows showing information such as name, organization, office address, and e-mail, and we need to know whether all Sasakawa Fellows have received it or not. Please let us know by e-mailing us at: wmujapan@spf.or.jp
Editor's note
Page 8 is a page I am sure Chairman Sasakawa takes note of. It often features some felicitous news such as marriages, births, and promotions, and sometimes some sad news as well. It is my guess that the Chairman would like to share the joy and sadness of this news with our readers. As one of the editors of this newsletter since it was first launched, I continue to hope that all Sasakawa Fellows will use this newsletter as a medium for expressing their views and ideas as individuals in a "borderless" manner irrespective of their country or organization, in the same way as they did when they were students. Recently the Fellows have been freely communicating with each other "Hello" from the Latest Editorial Members through Facebook in a manner that transcends time and space. From this wealth of information available, I feel that our newsletter as a print medium needs to find topics that we would like our readers to know about, and we must direct efforts to searching for these topics. Based on this view, I recently started to think that perhaps the time has come for us to have a Facebook watcher, in other words, an assistant editor. Eisuke Kudo (Advisor, SPF) This newsletter is published under a grant from The Nippon Foundation to promote communication among the Sasakawa Fellows of WMU (World Maritime University) and edited by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in cooperation with Prof. Toshio Hikima, Mr. Yusuke Mori, Mr. Yasufumi Onishi, Mr. Eisuke Kudo and Ms. Sue Jackson. Friends of WMU, Japan Secretariat,  The Sasakawa Peace Foundation The Sasakawa Peace Foundation Bldg., 1-15-16 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8524 Japan Tel: +81-(0)3-5157-5263  Fax: +81-(0)3-5157-5230  URL: http://www.spf.org/e/ AF THE SASAKAWA PEACE FOUNDATION