The theme of this year's Connecticut Maritime Association ("CMA") Shipping 2011 Conference "forward"— is laden with ambiguity. Given the current business climate, that is as it should be. Does "forward" reflect the fact that there was positive movement and profitability in the shipping industry in the past year? That certainly was the case for some segments of the industry. Or is "forward" only an aspiration, recognizing there is a long way to go before we will have a business climate which most would agree is good for shipping?
Everyone would agree that shipping experienced some major setbacks in the past year. Let me focus on just two major ones—piracy and the consequences of Deepwater Horizon.
Piracy is not just an issue for the industry; it has become a true plague that needs unprecedented international cooperation to bring it to an end. The IMO's increased focus on finding workable solutions to this scourge deserves the unqualified support of the shipping industry. I do not wish to be critical of the shipowners who have faced the terrible dilemma of having to pay ransom to free their crews, ships, and cargo. But in formulating its response to piracy, the shipping industry has created much more than a cottage industry to attempt to deal with it. Ransom has become institutionalized, with insurance companies, security companies, law firms, and others having a true financial stake in the matter. The shipping industry must do everything possible to combat the idea that the seizure of their ships by pirates is a normal obstacle to doing business. It is an old adage that every ransom paid merely leads to even greater demands the next time. The motherships and weapons acquired by the pirates in order to continue plying ever farther into the Indian Ocean have only become more sophisticated as piracy becomes even more profitable. If we still are writing about this topic at CMA Shipping 2012, we certainly will not have gone "forward."
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which was unfolding at CMA Shipping 2010, will have business and legal consequences that are still to be determined. But clearly, it brought to the fore two of the most important themes of our times. First, developing alternative energy sources, including wind, must be among our highest priorities. Second, the safety of seafarers should never be compromised.
Above all, however, there has been impressive resilience and encouraging progress in many segments of the industry as we move out of the economic crisis, which will be recognized by the speakers at CMA Shipping 2011. To move forward, it helps if you know where you want to go. The range of topics to be discussed and debated at this year's conference will unquestionably help guide all of us as we attempt to plot our way into the future.
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