Mike Corrigan, the incoming CEO of global trade association Interferry, is to advocate greater European Union involvement and investment in the ferry sector during an address on the opening day of European Shipping Week, which takes place in Brussels from February 27-March 3.
Interferry is hosting a reception that immediately follows a short sea shipping seminar organised in conjunction with the shipowners’ associations of The Netherlands, France, Greece, Sweden, Spain and Croatia.
Corrigan, currently president & CEO of Canada’s BC Ferries and who assumes his new role on April 1, will outline his case to a wide audience including EU regulators, member state representatives, operators and port authorities. His address will question why only 3% of total European transport funding is devoted to ferries despite the sector’s major contribution to Europe’s economic and environmentally-friendly development and the policy calls for shifting goods from road to sea.
In support, he will point to latest available statistics showing that, in 2015, European ferries carried 34.3 million trailers, 157.4m cars and 816m passengers – marking respective increases of 45%, 40% and 60% in ten years.
Both the seminar and reception are being held on February 27 at the Steigenberger Wiltcher’s Hotel. The seminar starts at 14:00 and will focus on the actions required to boost the short sea sector from economic and environmental perspectives. Speakers include Sandro Santamato, maritime and logistics head at the European Commission transport directorate; Stena Line CEO Niclas Martensson; Mark Frequin, director-general of transport at the Netherlands ministry of infrastructure & the environment; and Motorways of the Sea coordinator Brian Simpson.
European Shipping Week provides a platform for EU policy makers to engage with shipowners and other stakeholders. Interferry is among leading shipping organisations on the steering group that arranges the event.
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