This subject, a key theme of the second European Shipping Week, which took place in Brussels, reflects IACS ongoing cyber work and the European Commission’s focus in this area, as initiatives to implement existing digital practices, such as e-certification and national single windows gather pace and new technologies become closer to everyday application.
Keynote speeches from the IACS vice chairman, Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, Magda Kopczynska, DG Move Director, Waterborne and David Kerr, Malta’s Maritime Attaché in Brussels, highlighted the need for industry and regulators to work to develop solutions that are cross-sectoral and which strike the appropriate balance between industry self-regulation and/or that adopted by regional or global regulatory bodies.
Ørbeck-Nilssen spoke of the need to realise the safety, efficiency and environmental opportunities that the Digitalisation of Maritime Transport offers. Later, he said “Today’s IACS/EU workshop provided a timely platform for expert speakers to raise the awareness of the opportunities related to digitalisation, as well as the robust measures that can be implemented to ensure the transfer of digital information is safe and secure.”
Kopczynska challenged the industry to raise awareness of digitalisation and cyber safety and stressed her willingness to work with IACS, other industry stakeholders and the IMO to identify and deliver the appropriate degree of oversight.
She said; “ The European Commission is looking to industry stakeholders to provide feedback on how best regulators can assist in providing the appropriate regulatory framework for digitalisation. Recognising that possible regulation in this field could take several forms, identifying the correct approach will be key to successfully unlocking the many benefits that digitalisation offers for governments, industry and society at large.”