Global cargo handling association announces a new member from the key ship owning community. Gearbulk and Grieg Maritime joint venture G2 Ocean is seeking to share with and learn from the ICHCA’s (International Cargo Handling Coordination Association) extensive network to improve safety for those in both the shore-side and sea-going workforce.
In pursuing its primary mission to improve the safe working environment of all those handling cargo throughout the international maritime supply chain, ICHCA encourages all infrastructure owners and operators to engage in constructive dialogue. As such the news of a new member of the statue of G2 Ocean, controlling as it does one of the largest fleets of open hatch ships in the world, is of considerable significance to the advancement of safety standards at the ship-shore interface.
“Once more the addition of a member to ICHCA which has an avowed commitment to safety and is proactively investigating the mechanics of day-to-day improvements is cause for celebration,” said Richard Steele, ICHCA’s CEO. “The fact that the additional member is a vessel owner of such size and influence in major maritime commodity trades is more reason for approbation.”
G2 Ocean was launched in 2017 by two of the then largest open hatch vessel owners, Gearbulk and the Grieg Maritime Group. Both partners possess a core culture of sustainability and care for the environment. Moreover, they clearly understand that in order to sustain these values there must be an over-riding commitment to the safety of the labour force employed in all aspects of the operation of their, now combined even larger fleet.
In commenting on his organisation’s move, Phil Curran, Managing Director of Operations at G2 Ocean said: “Our aim is to be a safety leader within the open hatch vessel segment. We are committed to achieving zero incidents in our operations. This will require close collaboration with all our stakeholders, including stevedoring companies and terminals. We view our membership of ICHCA as an opportunity to seek and share insights on safety. Together, we can create safer working conditions for crew and stevedores in all the ports where we operate.”
Key to ICHCA’s successful past safety initiatives and central to all its future efforts is collaboration, raising standards in unity. To extend its collective expertise is the Association’s primary goal, ensuring both the widest possible knowledge of safety challenges in every aspect of cargo handling, and providing a forum for concerted will to find mutual solutions. “G2 Ocean’s accession to such a group of like-minded enterprises has to be good news for our achievement of such goals,” concluded Steele.
