31 October 2008
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DRAFT MINUTES
INTERTANKO
LATIN AMERICAN PANEL (LAP) 9TH MEETING
OCTOBER 28-29, 2008
HILTON HOTEL
CANCUN, MEXICO
ATTENDEES:
COMPANY
PMI
INTERTANKO US Office
PMI
Mexican SENATE
SNPP
PMI
Odfjell
RightShip
Transmarine Navigation
PMI
Transmarine Navigation
AGEMAR
Navitha Consultores
BulkShipping Mexico
PMI
Teekay
Tradewind Tankers
Meritas de Mexico
Melo & Melo
Transmarine Navigation
DGMM/FIDENA
Petrobras Transpetro
Maritime Marina
Heidmar
Grupo TMM
INTERTANKO Oslo Office
BulkShipping Mexico
BulkShipping Mexico
PMI
Ultrgas/OSG
Grupo TMM
PMI
NAME
Julio
Joseph
Fernando
Sebastian
Marioa
Rocio
Charlie
Eric
Carlos
Cesar
Patrick
Javier
Angelica
Javier
Jose Luis
Carlos
Carlos Juan
Veronica
Fernando
Alfredo
Luis
Elizio
Roberto
Jose
Manuel
Dragos
Saul
Ana Maria
Thalia
Kurt
Eric
Leopoldo
ALCAZAR REYES
ANGELO (Secretariat)
AYALA RUIZ
CALDERON CENTENO
CAMACHO VIDAL
CARDENAS
CASE
CLARKE
COREY
COVARRUBIAS
DUNBAR
FERNANDEZ
GARCIA
GARCIA-URTIAGA
HERNANDEZ
LOZANO
MADINABEITIA (Chairman)
MANDUJANO
MELO
MORENO
MURIEL
NETO
NOVELO
PERAZA
PORTILLO
RAUTA
RODRIGUEZ
ROJAS
RUBIO MARTINEZ
SCHWARZ
SERRATOS
SIMON
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Southport Maritime
INTERTANKO London Office
Traer
Laurin Maritime
PMI
Trygve
Peter
Alejandro
Michael
Rosendo
SKAAR
SWIFT
TRILLO
WILSON
ZAMBRANO
Gustavo
Michael
PEREYRA
SCHRODER
APOLOGIES RECEIVED FROM:
Anatares Naviera
Ultragas
AGENDA:
1. Anti-trust/competition law compliance
2. Minutes from the last meeting
3. Keynote presentation by Mexican Merchant Marine
4. Managing Directors report
5. Energy balance in the Americas
6. Revision of Annex VI of MARPOL
7. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships
8. OCIMF Revised Tanker Management and Self Assessment Program
9. Waste management at port reception facilities in Latin America
10. Role of Latin American governments in promoting development of merchant marine fleets
11. Technical Directors report
12. US EPA new ship discharge requirements
13. Poseidon Challenge update
14. INTERTANKO Annual Tanker event
15. Any other business
16. Next meeting
The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming all those in attendance and thanking them for
coming to Cancun, Mexico. He noted the exceptional attendance at this panel meeting and
encouraged all members of the panel to continue to pursue growth of the membership of the panel
throughout the Latin American region.
The Secretariat advised the panel of the proposed meeting schedule, logistical arrangements
for the meeting and arrangements for the Welcome Dinner hosted by PMI at Xcaret. The
Chairman thanked PMI for graciously hosted this Welcome Dinner.
1.
ANTI-TRUST/COMPETITION LAW COMPLIANCE
At the start of the meeting the Secretariat reminded participants of INTERTANKO’s Antitrust/Competition law Compliance Statement and that the meeting was being conducted in
compliance with INTERTANKO’s anti-trust/competition law guidelines.
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2. MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING
The draft minutes of the panel’s 8th meeting which was held on March 12-13, 2008 in Miami Beach,
Florida as enclosed in the agenda notes were approved as they stand.
3. MEXICAN MERCHANT MARINE PRESENTATION
CAPT Luis I. Muriel, the Director General of Fidena (Department for Education and Training of the
Personnel of the Mexican Merchant Marine), provided the panel with the keynote presentation on
the National Development Plan of the Mexican Merchant Marine. His presentation can be seen at
http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78102/LAP1.pdf
In his presentation CAPT Muriel informed the panel that Mexico was developing this plan to
improve their quality and services with the objective of being the leading Latin American country in
the maritime sector. He outlined the current legislation that exists in Mexico, the fact that Mexico
has ratified most of the IMO treaties, the work they had done to implement maritime security in
Mexican ports, examples of action the Mexican government has taken to improve maritime safety
and protection of the marine environment in Mexican waters, their maritime safety plan for yachts
and the maritime education program.
With regard to maritime training in Mexico, he indicated that within the Mexican maritime
academies there were approximately 1000 students, graduating about 250 each year which was
not sufficient to meet the national needs of the Mexican maritime fleet. He said that the capacity of
the maritime academies was currently limited, but they were looking for ways to expand their
training needs. Mexico currently does not have a training ship, so they have agreements with the
Mexican Navy and a US maritime academy to provide their cadets with seagoing experience. He
concluded by telling the panel that one of the main objectives of the national plan was to achieve
high quality standards for maritime education within Mexico.
The Chairman thanked CAPT Muriel for taking time out of his very busy schedule to attend the
panel meeting and for providing his very informative presentation.
4. MANAGING DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Mr. Peter Swift, Managing Director of INTERTANKO, provided the panel with an overview of tanker
issues INTERTANKO is facing today. His presentation can be seen at
http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78105/LAP2%20%20(28%2010%2008)%20-%20SWIFT.ppt
The issues he addressed included piracy and other security related concerns, incident analysis,
the human element and the Tanker Officer Training Standards, issues to be considered at the
upcoming Council meeting including association affairs, the Hebei Spirit, legal issues
INTERTANKO was involved in and the recent global financial crisis and its possible impact on
tanker operations worldwide.
Concern was expressed by panel members over the fact that the two officers of the Hebei Spirit
were still being detained within the Republic of Korea (at the shipowners expense) even after they
had been found not guilty of any charges by the lower court and despite assurances of their return,
if necessary, to the Republic of Korea for an appellate court hearing had been given by the officers
themselves, the shipowner and the Indian government.
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The panel focused its discussion on the global financial crisis, noting that the oil tanker fleet and
seaborne oil trade had increased significantly over the past 5 years. This raised the questions of
what the current credit crunch would have on steel prices, new shipbuilding, ship scrapping and
the “green agenda” to name a few. The panel members gave their views on the future of oil prices,
bunker prices and tanker freight rates. It was interesting to note that there were mixed views within
the panel on all three issues, with some saying they would be higher, others saying lower and a
few saying they would remain about the same.
Specific comments made by panel members were that financing is currently not available, resulting
in a general negative sentiment within the industry and concern was expressed that there was an
increase in time charter defaults. The panel looked forward to receiving the report on the Council’s
discussion on the global financial crisis.
5. ENERGY BALANCE IN THE AMERICAS
Mr. Rosendo Zambrano, Director General for PMI, provided the panel with an excellent
presentation on Energy Balance In the Americas. His presentation can be seen at
http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78107/LAP3%20Conferencia%20Intertanko%20(RZ).PPT
His presentation informed the panel about trends and predictions in:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Americas crude oil production, which shows growth in both Canada and Latin American;
Latin Americas crude oil production, which shows growth in Brazil;
US crude oil production, which is declining;
The Americas crude oil imports;
US crude oil imports from the Americas;
The significant growth in Canadian crude oil exports; and
Brazilian, Mexican and Venezuelan crude oil exports.
His presentation also showed the receivers of Mexican crude oil exports, the flows of crude oil to
the US from the Americas.
For refined products Mr. Zambrano provided information on Mexican commercial activities,
Mexican imports, US flows and movements in Mexican ports.
His conclusions included:
1.
2.
3.
4.
US remains the main crude oil importer in the world;
Texas and Louisiana remain the main export destinations for Mexican crude oil;
Gasoline will continue to flow from the US to Europe and the Mexican gulf coast; and
Diesel will continue to flow from Asia to the Mexican pacific coast.
During the discussion of the presentation, the following addition points were made:
1. The average break even price for WTI is $67 per barrel. For Saudi Arabia it is around $50
and for Mexico it is about $70;
2. Oil consumption in Asia will continue to increase;
3. Energy consumption will continue increase worldwide;
4. Auto efficiency will improve; and
5. China auto usage will increase significantly.
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In linking his presentation to the global financial crisis, Mr. Zambrano was of the view that the crisis
is based in a worldwide lack of trust and until that trust is restored to some reasonable level,
considerable uncertainty will exist in the world’s oil markets.
The Chairman thanked Mr. Zambrano for his extremely insightful presentation and stimulating
panel discussion on the subject.
6. REVISION OF ANNEX VI OF MARPOL
Mr. Dragos Rauta, the Technical Director of INTERTANKO, provided the panel with an update on
the recent amendments to Annex VI of MARPOL to reduce air emissions from ships. His
presentation can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78109/LAP4%20-MARPOL-AnnexVI---Co.ppt
His presentation provided the panel with the details of the revisions of Annex VI and the practical
consequences of these changes to tanker owners. Specifically, the presentation addressed the
new requirements in SOX emissions, fuel oil quality and compliance standards, acceptance of
equivalent standards, NOX emissions and VOC emissions. Concern was expressed about the
availability of low sulfur distillate fuels by the dates required in the revised Annex VI, but for the
most part, the panel members were of the view that these amendments were positive for the tanker
owners.
In discussion this presentation, a number of major points were made by the panel members
including:
1. To meet these new low sulfur requirements, refineries would have to make investments in
coking and hydro-cracking units;
2. PEMEX would need to invest in infrastructure to produce meet these new standards;
3. While it will cost refineries to invest, in the end they will make money selling these fuels to
the shipowners;
4. The cost to make changes to produce this fuel oil for ships will increase exponentially as
you move toward 0.1% sulfur content.
5. The sulfur that is removed from the fuel to meet the new requirements is then used for the
production of fertilizers.
One panel member pointed out that fuel changeover creates problems for the ship operators and
asked if IMO or INTERTANKO were doing anything to address this problem. Mr. Rauta said that
this was currently not being addressed by either, but INTERTANKO would look into the possibility
of learning best practices used by members and sharing this information with all members and/or
consider suggesting the development of guidelines on this subject by IMO.
7.
REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM SHIPS
Mr. Dragos Rauta provided the panel with an overview of the latest developments at IMO in
reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. His presentation can be seen at
http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78111/LAP5%20-%20Ships-Greenhouase-Ga.ppt
His presentation provided the panel with an overview of the relationship between the work being
done at IMO on this subject and the Kyoto Protocol, the events that have occurred within IMO to
make progress on this subject and the latest developments that took place at MEPC 58 on a
mandatory new ship design index, a ship energy efficient management plan and market based
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incentives. He also explained to the panel the difficulties that IMO was having in making progress
on this very important subject because of the “common, but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR)
provision in Article 2.2 of the Kyoto Protocol which was being used by some developing countries
to insist that only the ships of developed countries should be required to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
With regard to the CBDR, the panel members were informed that every Latin American country
that spoke at IMO supported the CBDR approach even though the IMO convention contains
provisions that call for equal treatment of all ships worldwide. Some members informed the panel
that within their country there were disagreements between the Ministries responsible for shipping
and for the environment and that these differences would have to be resolved at the political level.
However, having said that, they also said that they believe that shipping is international and such
requirements should apply to all ships worldwide.
The Secretariat brought the OCIMF’s TMSA supplement on Energy Efficient and Fuel
Management to the attention of the panel and asked the panel’s views on the best practice guide
which asks the company to demonstrate that it is actively liaising with charterers to optimize vessel
speed and voyage schedules. In addition, the Secretariat asked the panel if it was appropriate for
the INTERTANKO Council to develop an appropriate policy in response to this best practice. In
discussing the matter, the following points were made by the panel members regarding the best
practice and an INTERTANKO proposed policy responding to this best practice:
1. The proposed policy was very general and reasonable;
2. Voyages involve more than at sea movement; it also includes port calls for fueling and
loading and discharging of cargo, which should be taken into account;
3. The proposed policy should be expanded to include port authorities and terminals and not
be limited to involve only charterers;
4. Parcel tankers have multiple charterers which would create problems;
5. Complex charter agreements exist making a general policy very difficult;
6. The policy statement is good in that it encourages communication with the charterer;
7. There should be a cross link to demurrage clauses; and
8. A best practice should include energy conservation awareness; proper training of the crew
could get better than a 1% reduction in fuel consumption.
The Secretariat thanked the panel for their valuable comments.
8. OCIMF REVISED TANKER MANAGEMENT AND SELF ASSESSMENT (TMSA2) PROGRAM
The Secretariat provided the provided the panel with a presentation provided by OCIMF on the
revised Tanker Management and Self Assessment (TMSA2) program. His presentation can be
seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78115/LAP7%20tmsa2.pdf
This presentation provided the history of TMSA, ship operator participation by country, an
overview of what is new in TMSA2 and a section by section list of changes for each of the 12
elements. The key difference between TMSA and TMSA2 is that TMSA was very repetitive
and TMSA removed most of the repetition in the elements. Another substantial change is
that the scope of the TMSA2 has been enlarged to include the management of barges as
well as tankers. For barges there are 37 occasions where a "Not Applicable" response is
now permitted in certain situations. He pointed out that TMSA2 went live on July 1, 2008.
He stressed that TMSA2 was the tanker owner telling the charterer how they operate their tankers
and that SIRE was how the charterer actually saw the tanker owner operating their ships. In this
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regard, OCIMF was currently dealing with the relationship between TMSA2 and SIRE and was
looking for feedback on this issue from the tanker owners. He said that the charterer was looking
for integrity, responsibility and trust in the tanker owner and the relationship between TMSA2 and
SIRE would be helpful in this evaluation. It was accented that what the charterers were looking for
in TMSA2 was continual improvement by the tanker operators.
Mr. Michael Wilson of Laurin Maritime who was the Chairman of the INTERTANKO working group
which reviewed the draft TMSA2 and provided INTERTANKO comments to OCIMF informed the
panel that although there was no specific requirement, OCIMF was looking to have all tankers
using TMSA2 by the end of November.
9.
WASTE MANAGEMENT AT PORT RECEPTION FACILITIES IN LATIN AMERICA
Mr. Alejandro Trillo of Traer provided the panel with a presentation on Waste Management at Port
Reception Facilities in Latin America. His presentation can be seen at
http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78117/LAP%208%20%20Waste%20reception%20facilities%20in%20Latin%20America.ppt
His presentation addressed the challenges shipowners face in dealing with the operational
discharges of oily waste, the risks of not processing these wastes properly, the reasons for noncompliance with national and international standards, the limited availability of port reception
facilities in the Latin American region, some of the solutions to properly dispose these wastes, the
value of one contact point for disposing of the wastes and a commitment to assist shipowners
calling at ports in the Latin American region.
It was pointed out that the primary problem was that countries in the Latin American region had
ratified the MARPOL treaty, but were not meeting their treaty obligations to provide adequate
reception facilities in their ports. It was suggested that shipowners that encounter inadequate
reception facilities should report these details to INTERTANKO so they could be included in the
INTERTANKO database and made available to all members. In addition, it was suggested that
when such a problem is encountered, the port authorities should be notified. In this regard
concern was expressed about protecting the anonymity of the shipowner in cases when the
terminal is operated by the charterer.
Mr. Trillo informed the panel that Traer was working with Mexico and Argentina and later Panama
to develop a database regarding local and national requirements and regulations and that he
would make this information available to INTERTANKO to share with its members. PMI offered to
send a letter to the Mexican authorities to point out the problems created by inadequate reception
facilities and to solicit their support in solving this problem. The panel thanked both Traer and PMI
for these offers to assist in addressing this problem in the Latin American region.
10. ROLE OF LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS IN PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF
MERCHANT MARINE FLEETS
The panel was honored to have Mexican Senator Sebastian Calderon, Chairman of the
Senate Committee on Merchant Marine, to give a presentation on the Role of Latin American
Governments in Promoting the Development of Merchant Marine Fleets. His presentation
can be seen at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78113/LAP6%20%20Presentación%20para%20Intertanko%20Cancún%20%20El%20rol%20de%20los%20gobiernos%20latinoamericanos%20en%20promocionar%20
el%20desarrollo%20de%20la%20Marina%20Mercante.ppt
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(NOTE: Senator Calderon’s presentation was given in Spanish with verbal English interpretation
for the panel members.)
Senator Calderon informed that panel that he started his career in the Mexican merchant
marine as a seaman and worked his way up to ship’s Captain. After serving as a ship’s
Captain for many years, he came ashore and began a new career in politics where he
eventually became a member of the Mexican Senate and is currently the Chairman of the
Senate Committee on Merchant Marine. He said that the Mexican Senate must ratify all
treaties before they can become law.
He started by explaining the general process of registration of ships and the current
worldwide breakdown of the world tanker fleet with Latin America representing about 26% of
the tanker fleet. He then showed the evolution of the world’s tanker fleet from 1946 to 2000,
clearing demonstrating how the tanker fleet has moved from the flag of developed countries,
such as the US and Norway, to open registry countries like Panama, Liberia and the
Bahamas.
He explained that the main reason for the growth of open registries was the economic
advantages which included lower crew costs and lower taxes, resulting in better charter
rates for the tanker owner. However, he pointed out that there were, and still are, critics who
oppose open registries because of the difficulty in ascertaining the shipowner’s identity and
little control over the shipowner by the flag of registry.
In addition, he said that labor organizations are opposed to open registry. It is for this main
reason that the International Transport Federation (ITF) developed a collective bargaining
agreement for most crew hires on shipping worldwide. He indicated that Mexico had not yet
ratified this ITF agreement, but he was working in the Mexican Senate to achieve its
ratification.
He said that a number of Latin American countries are developing legislation to enhance
their flag registration and increase jobs for their people. This was happening in Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela. They are doing this through fringe benefits and tax
reductions which has resulted in growth in their cabotage fleets. In particular, Brazil has had
the most success in this are.
Within Mexico, they have looked at the establishment of a second registry similar to what
has been done in Norway and the UK. Unfortunately, the Mexican law has preventing this
from happening for three major reasons:
1. Article 32 of the Mexican constitution requires that all personnel serving on Mexican
flag ships must be born in Mexico for the protection of Mexican workers. This
prevents Mexico from reducing crew costs through foreign born seafarers;
2. The Ministry of Finance opposes any attempt to relax taxes for Mexican shipowners
under a second registry; and
3. The Mexican armed forces require Mexican flag ships to be immediately available in
the time of a war under the control of the Mexican authorities.
In view of these obstacles to a second registry, Mexico’s strategy to increase their registry
has included other inventive techniques. These include:
1. Incentives through discounts in fuel;
2. Flexibility in worker matters through negotiated solutions between the shipowners and
the workers unions; and
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3. A Fund for the Development of a National Merchant Marine (FONDEMAR) which
provides domestic and international credit for ship financing.
The result has been an increase in Mexican flag ships, mostly in the offshore industry. From
1995-2000, there were 171 Mexican registered ships. From 2001-2006, this number has
increased to 331 registered ships.
In addition, Mexico has established the Registro Especial Maritime Mexicano (REMM) as an
alternative incentive for shipowners. Under this program a ship built in Mexico or bought by
a Mexican shipowner would get a 30% reduction for ships that are less than 10 years old.
In conclusion, Senator Calderon said that Mexico is committed through law to increase the
Mexican registry and create more jobs at sea for Mexican seafarers. The efforts that have
been taken by the Mexican government have had a positive effect on the registration of
Mexican tankers. In 2000 there were 7 Mexican flag tankers that were going to reach the
end of their useful life in 2010. Under the above mentioned programs, Mexican shipowners
are rebuilding the Mexican tanker fleet with 5 new shipbuildings and 5 additional tanker
rebuilds which is a demonstration of the positive effects of these programs.
The Chairman told Senator Calderon that the panel was honored by his presence at this
panel meeting and thanked him for providing the panel with such an excellent presentation.
11.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Mr. Dragos Rauta provided the panel with an overview of the technical issues currently being
considered by INTERTANKO’s Technical Committee. His presentation can be seen at
http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78121/LAP%2010%20-%20Speech-Power-LAP----TechnicalIss.ppt
His presentation addressed the issues of implementation of common structural rules, damage
stability verification, hydrocarbon gas detection, maintenance manual, cargo tank inspection
frequency, coatings for ballast and cargo tanks, engineroom oily waste collection, VOC emission
guidelines, lifeboat safety and fuel standards. He indicated that the INTERTANKO Technical
Committee was working on all of these issues.
On the issue of fuel standards, he informed the panel about some the problems that tanker owners
were encountering with existing fuel oil standard and he gave an overview of the ongoing efforts to
improve the ISO fuel oil standard with the hope that a revised standard would become mandatory
through IMO.
12. US EPA NEW SHIP DISCHARGE STANDARDS
The Secretariat provided the panel with a presentation on the new ship discharge standards that
are being issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Water Act
(CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. His presentation can
be see at http://www.intertanko.com/upload/78119/LAP9%20-%20EPAnpdes.ppt
This presentation gave the panel an overview of the legal and regulatory actions that provided the
reasons why EPA was requiring ships to be regulated under Clean Water Act through an NPDES
permit system, an outline of the Vessel General Permit (VGP) requirements and the compliance
and enforcement requirements. In addition, he informed the panel that by court order, commercial
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ships of 300 gross tons or greater would have to comply with the requirements after December 20,
but EPA had not yet issued the final VGP requirements and would probably not be doing so until
early to mid December. He also told the panel that this would be the first time in the 35 year
history of the Clean Water Act that NPDES permits would be used to regulate ship discharges.
Further, he informed the panel that was no possibility of any further court action or legislative relief
that would delay or negate these EPA requirements.
The Secretariat advised the panel that as soon as the final VGP was issued by EPA,
INTERTANKO would make them available to all members and that in addition, the INTERTANKO
Environmental manager would be working with Environmental Committee to look into the
possibility of developing guidelines for INTERTANKO members to assist them in complying with
these new ship discharge standards. Until then, he recommended that all members who will have
their tankers call on the US after December 19, begin development of a compliance plan based
upon the proposed VGP and then make the necessary adjustments to their plan when the final
VGP is issued.
13. POSEIDON CHALLENGE UPDATE
The Secretariat provided the panel with an update on the latest developments related to the
Poseidon Challenge. The Poseidon Challenge Award presented to the International
Association of Classification Societies (IACS) during the 2008 Annual Tanker Event in
Istanbul was considered a great success both internally and externally to INTERTANKO.
The Executive Committee has agreed that the Poseidon Challenge Award should be given
biennially, so in the near future, the Secretariat will start the process for awarding the next
Poseidon Challenge Award at the Annual Tanker Event in 2010.
There were mixed reviews about the Poseidon Challenge sessions that took place during the
INTERTANKO Tanker Event in 2008. Some of the presentations were considered
beneficial, while others were considered self-promotional. Almost everyone agreed that the
two sessions were too long. Plans for the next Annual Tanker Event in Tokyo are underway
and will include a Poseidon Challenge session, but it is anticipated that it will be no more
than a half-day session with a focused theme of Lessons Learned from Quality
Improvement.
14.
INTERTANKO ANNUAL TANKER EVENT
The Secretariat informed the panel that the 2009 INTERTANKO Annual Tanker Event is scheduled
to take place at the Conrad Hotel in Tokyo, Japan from May 13-15, 2009. He told the panel that
further details would be issued in the future and encouraged all members of the panel to attend.
15.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Two issues were raised under this agenda item:
1. One panel member asked if the Secretariat was aware of any developments to increase the
limits of liability under OPA90 to fund wreck removal in the United States. The Secretariat
informed the panel that he would like into this matter.
2. The Chairman raised the issue of refugees at seas and brought the panel’s attention to the joint
IMO/United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) publication entitled “RESCUE AT
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SEA” which the Secretariat made available at the panel meeting. He indicated that this was a
humanitarian matter and there was a need for ships to render assistance when refugees are found
at sea. In addition, he informed the panel that he had requested that this issue be discussed at the
INTERTANKO Annual Tanker Event in Tokyo.
16.
NEXT MEETING
The Chairman informed the panel that Ultragas has invited the panel to hold its next meeting in
Chile. The Secretariat will discuss this offer further with the Chairman and Michael Schroder of
Ultragas to determine the dates and venue for this meeting and inform the panel members
accordingly.
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