The International Chamber of Shipping is one of the world's principal

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

organisations, representing around 80% of the world's merchant tonnage through membership by national

shipowner A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...

s' associations. It is concerned with maritime regulatory, operational and legal issues. Its membership includes over 40 national shipowner organisations. A major ICS activity is acting as a consultative body at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

agency with responsibility for the safety of life at sea and the protection of the marine environment, the

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...

. ICS represents the global interests of all the different shipping trades in the industry, these include

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, econom ...

operators, tanker operators,

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

operators and container liner trades, including shipowners and third party ship managers. ICS has consultative status with a number of other intergovernmental bodies which affect shipping, these include: the

World Customs Organization The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The WCO works on customs-related matters including the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics suc ...

, the

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

, the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...

, and the

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Internati ...

. The ICS also has close relationships with industry organisations representing different maritime interests such as shipping,

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

pilotage Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...

, the oil industry, insurance and classification societies responsible for the surveying of ships.

History

ICS was established in 1921.

Location

In September 2021, the International Chamber of Shipping left office space near the

Baltic Exchange The Baltic Exchange (incorporated as The Baltic Exchange Limited) is a membership organisation for the maritime industry, and freight market information provider for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts. It was locate ...

St Mary Axe St Mary Axe was a medieval parish in the City of London whose name survives as that of the street which formerly occupied it. The Church of St Mary Axe was demolished in 1561 and its parish united with that of St Andrew Undershaft, which is ...

and moved to Walsingham House near to

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher grou ...

Publications

The ICS is also responsible for several publications in use in the marine industry, in conjunction with Witherbys. In June 2020, ICS made its maritime publications available as e-books for the first time. In response to IMO efforts to require cyber security to be addressed under the

International Safety Management Code The International Safety Management (ISM) Code is the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standard for the safe management and operation of ships at sea. The purpose of the ISM Code * To ensure safety at sea and prevent damage to property, ...

, in November 2019, together with BIMCO and the

Witherby Publishing Group Witherby Publishing Group, formerly known as Witherby Seamanship, is a technical publisher of maritime, nautical and navigation training, reference and regulatory materials. The company is the resulting merger of Witherby Books and Seamansh ...

, ICS published the Cyber Security Workbook for Onboard Ship Use. The second edition of the nautical workbook was published in 2021. In May 2020, ICS issued updated health guidance for the global shipping industry to ensure ship operators and crew can safely deal with seafarers struggling with medical conditions during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2021, ICS produced guidance on

Maritime security Maritime security is an umbrella term informed to classify issues in the Maritime transport, maritime domain that are often related to national security, marine environment, economic development, and human security. This includes the world's ocean ...

with a publication entitled ''Maritime Security - A comprehensive Guide for Shipowners, Seafarers and Administrations''. In August 2022, in partnership with Witherbys and BIMCO, ICS issued a guidance title for the shipping industry on

biofouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

entitled ''Biofouling, Biosecurity and Hull Cleaning''.

References

External links

ICS Home page
{{Authority control International organisations based in London Organisations based in the City of London Shipping trade associations

History

Location

Publications

See also

References

External links