MSC is proud to have won the Best Shipping Line: Asia – Africa category at the prestigious Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) Awards, underlining the company’s strong position in the region.

MSC has responded to growing demand by increasing services between Asia and Africa, reducing transit times and providing more efficiency and ease of access for customers. We are honoured and grateful for the endorsement by Asia Cargo News readers, among them many shipping line service users.

The awards are hosted and organized annually by Asia Cargo News to recognise leading logistics and supply chain providers, based on excellence in customer service, innovation and quality of service. This year, they were announced on 17 June at a Gala Dinner and Award Ceremony, held at The Asia Society Hong Kong Centre.

The nomination and voting process allowed the more than 15,000 readers and e-news subscribers to first determine the leading companies in the market, and then determine the winners, making the results the opinion of service users rather than a panel of judges.

 Reference: msc.com

The order is part of an ongoing fleet renewal programme in the LR2 segment. “We are building the LR2s to ensure we have a portfolio of vessels that best fits our customers’ demands. The newbuildings will help us sustain a competitive fleet in a segment that is attractive to customers and owners alike, and to retain a strong market position,” says Søren C. Meyer, Chief Asset Officer at Maersk Tankers.

The contract for the newbuilding programme was signed in a market with competitive asset prices. In May 2018, the company confirmed the order of the first six vessels. The plan is to deliver the ten LR2s from 2020 – 2022. The vessels will come under Maersk Tankers’ commercial, technical and corporate management.

Reference: maersktankers.com

The Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) has launched its inclusion pledge which addresses the under representation of women in the maritime industry.

The pledge is a series of statements aimed at embracing diversity through individual action and personal responsibility. Individuals are encouraged to sign the pledge in support of a diverse and inclusive maritime sector. The pledge can be found online on the WISTA International website or Change.org.

Signatories of the pledge commit to "Embrace diversity of thought (including gender, race, ethnicity, and age) and contribute to a merit-based business environment within my organisation. I will be a champion of equal opportunity and equal pay. My behavior will reflect how I wish our industry to behave in the future. I will work - and encourage others to work - toward a diverse and inclusive maritime sector."

WISTA International President Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou said: "We geared this pledge to individuals, for we feel strongly that individuals have the power to bring about change."

In 2018, WISTA International appointed a Diversity Committee to focus on practical solutions to increase opportunities for gender diversity in the maritime industry. Writing a pledge to challenge the community to advance diversity and inclusion was a mandate of the committee.

WISTA has produced a Gender Diversity Manual in conjunction with ISWAN and Anglo-Eastern.

Formed in 1974, WISTA International is a global networking organization for female managers in the shipping industry, with more than 3,000 members worldwide, and 45 national WISTA associations. The number of associations continues to grow, and earlier this month a national association was established in Chile.

WISTA was approved for consultative status with the IMO in July 2018, providing the organization with a formal voice for supporting IMO work in a variety of areas. 

Last week IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim gave an address on empowering women in the maritime community, the World Maritime Day theme for this year. The theme provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of gender equality, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG5, and to highlight the important, yet under-utilized, contribution of women within the maritime sector.

Reference: maritime-executive.com