The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL) teamed up with UCL Faculty of Laws to put on a high-powered event on the issues surrounding “Greentech and Shipping” at Benham House in London on 19 April 2023.
The gathering, attended by practitioners, industry representatives, academics and many others in the shipping business, considered in detail a number of serious contemporary and hot-button issues: for example, EU and international initiatives on shipping and decarbonisation, public law interventions, contractual, digital and alternative solutions, and the industry’s own initiatives.
The format was carefully designed for maximum impact. Speakers got less time to talk, and delegates correspondingly had more scope to engage and debate the issues. This proved remarkably successful; everyone involved went away vastly better informed.
Apart from speakers from the Institute (Professors Simon Baughen, Baris Soyer and Andrew Tettenborn and Dr Lia Amaxilati and Dr Aygun Mammadzada) and from UCL (Dr Melis Özdel and Dr Tristan Smith), the event also included contributions from a large number of well-known figures in the field. These included Professor Lia Athanasiou (Athens University), Gabriel Castellanos (IMO), Grant Hunter (BIMCO), Jolien Kruit (Partner, Van Traa Advocaten, Rotterdam), Johanna Ohlman (HFW), Sam Strivens (Carbon Trust), Professor Vibe Garf Ulfbeck (Copenhagen University) and Haris Zografakis (Stephenson Harwood LLP).
Expert chairing is essential to any gathering of this sort. For this we were immensely grateful to Mr Edmund Greiner (Fugro Marine Services), Mr Neil Henderson (Gard); Mr Cathal Leigh-Doyle (Stephenson Harwood LLP); Mr Michael Biltoo (Kennedy’s) and the Institute's own Dr Tabetha Kurtz-Shefford.
Green tech is a key area of research within the Institute. This event brilliantly showcased the work being done at Swansea and elsewhere and will no doubt pave the way for further research in these areas.