Stand back, it’s a gusher!
Posted on | June 18, 2010 | No Comments
The World Ocean Council’s inaugural Sustainable Ocean Summit was a testament to what can be achieved in these jaded times with passion and vision in a not-for-profit framework. Indeed, there were times during the speeches at Wednesday night’s dinner when even prime mover Paul Holtus felt that the praise was getting a little emotional.
But there are plenty of take-homes: Rio Tinto, ExxonMobil, Torm USA and RightShip among others are signed up and taking part. If WOC can convince BP, Intertanko, ICS and more who attended but are on the fringes right now, then WOC has the potential to be a game changer.
There are challenges. The scope is so broad – environmental management in mining and commodities, energy and offshore, shipping and fisheries – that more than a few delegates could be heard to ponder what on earth this had to do with them.
I agreed but the streaming of the sessions was a clever blend of inputs around each topic – so much so that the desire to be in two places at once was common. And it soon became obvious that fishing could learn from shipping could learn from mining and so on. Common issues made for shared outputs whether it was Arctic navigation, training, ports and dredging or climate change.
Sitting at the back of the marine mammals session trying to file a story, I found myself drawn to the presentations. The combination of industry and academia, research and best practice made this a fascinating overview of current practice and future trends. It’s an issue for shipping and energy just as much as for tourism and ecology. Sharing this at lunch I had to remove the surprise from my voice.
To the extent that it’s my job to be cynical I would say that WOC’s programme is big – perhaps too unwieldy to achieve anything – unless it can find a way of linking up the sectors in the same way that it brought them together. It could have input into IMO but much of that expertise is already represented and with the Clean Shipping Coalition recently gaining observer status, is pretty much covered.
It is also easy to be optimistic when the sun is shining in Belfast as it does so rarely. But it is impossible to ignore the enthusiasm and the achievement in bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders. Much will depend on persuading its members to take ownership of the issues having identified with them. So perhaps there is a message for the shipping industry there after all.
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