Ukrainian Maritime Cluster (UMC)

📢 Listen to Christophe Tytgat's interview with TVP WORLD on the state of the European shipbuilding industry. 🚢 There has been a dramatic decline but there is also considerable potential for recovery in high-end sustainable, digitalised vessels. ⚓🌊 https://lnkd.in/eu4hJW7M

🇺🇦🤝🇪🇺 Mykolaiv as a leader in sustainable economic transformations in Ukraine envisions strategic development of the “blue economy.” 🌊🏖️🐠⛴️ https://lnkd.in/evCNafpT #umc #nuos #mdem #cluster

📢 Join us for the high-level session “From the Danube Source to the Black Sea – Healthy Waters and Healthy Life” 🌊 Key Black Sea and Danube regional stakeholders will gather to advance towards the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030”, addressing pollution issues affecting our waters—from nutrients and chemicals to litter and physical alterations of watersheds. 📅 October 15, 2024 📍 Burgas Free University in Bulgaria Don’t miss the opportunity and register before Monday 14 October 12:00 (CEST) Read more: https://lnkd.in/dTeHNQMv

Congratulations on Ukraine Defender Day! Today, we honor the courage and heroism of those who defend our country, protecting peace and freedom. Your bravery and selflessness inspire millions. We are grateful to every defender for standing guard over our future. #DefenderOfUkraineDay #ThankYouDefenders #GloryToUkraine #Heroes 

Join #HTS4BS to dive into the latest in #technology, #business insights, and #research with leading experts from the #BlueEconomy, marine, and maritime sectors across the Black Sea region and beyond. @BRIDGE_BlackSea Read more and register: https://lnkd.in/eYHTFcra

📢 SEA Europe applauds European Commission's announcement of new industrial maritime strategy! 👍🏻 🚢 SEA Europe, the leading association representing the European maritime technology industry, including shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers, warmly welcomes today’s announcement by the European Commission of “a new industrial maritime strategy to enhance the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of Europe’s maritime manufacturing sector”. 🌊 🌟 This announcement is significant as it recognizes the crucial role of Europe’s maritime technology industry in delivering sustainable and digitalized assets for shipping, the blue economy (including strategic sectors such as offshore renewable energy), and naval defense. This industry is a cornerstone of Europe’s strategic autonomy and economic resilience. 🌐 ⚠️ SEA Europe emphasizes the importance of each aspect of the Commission’s announcement: 📍𝐀 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲: The European Union must not merely repurpose existing, ineffective tools but should design an innovative approach with new policy solutions, as outlined in SEA Europe's Manifesto (https://lnkd.in/eH_jxtpA). 📍𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲: This strategy should place the shipbuilding supply chain at the heart of the maritime economy. 📍𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: It should prioritize Europe’s manufacturing sector to defend and promote Europe’s industrial interests and capacity amid intense competition from Asia for technology leadership and control over critical supply chains. 💡 SEA Europe notes that while this announcement was made in the mission letter of the Commissioner designate for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, it should encompass a broader scope, addressing maritime manufacturing, shipbuilding capacity, and technological leadership as fundamental elements of the entire maritime sector. Therefore, SEA Europe calls for strong collaboration among Commissioners responsible for transport, industry, technology, trade, competition, and research. 🤝🏻 ⚓️ As the representative voice of European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers, SEA Europe is committed to collaborating with policymakers, industry stakeholders, and other relevant parties to shape and implement this future industrial maritime strategy, aiming to enhance the competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of Europe’s maritime sector. 🛳

𝐒𝐄𝐀 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬. 🚢 💡 SEA Europe, the Shipyards & Maritime Equipment Association of Europe, has submitted its formal contribution to the European Commission's public consultation on the draft revised State aid rules for land and multimodal transport, with a focus on inland waterways. Representing Europe's maritime technology industry, SEA Europe welcomes the Commission’s initiative to support the inland waterways sector but calls for more ambitious criteria to ensure sustainable, digital, and high-tech solutions are prioritised. ✨️ 🏞 The inland waterways sector, despite transporting 150 billion tonne-kilometres of cargo annually, faces an aging fleet and limited financial capacity, dominated by SMEs and family-run businesses. The European Commission has proposed criteria to facilitate State aid for acquiring and modernising inland vessels. While SEA Europe appreciates this support, the association stresses that these investments must align with the EU’s Green Deal and support the business case for the European maritime technology industry, comprising shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers. ⚓️ ⚠️ SEA Europe's key concerns: 📍Lack of sustainability and innovation: The current draft lacks conditions for the use of state-of-the-art, green technologies in new vessels. SEA Europe argues that this is a missed opportunity to drive innovation and transition to zero-emission, digitalised fleets. 📍Unfair competition from non-European shipyards: The proposed rules do not require vessels to be built or retrofitted in European shipyards, potentially funnelling funds from EU countries to non-European competitors that often benefit from domestic subsidies, further disadvantaging European shipbuilders. 📍Ambiguity in aid eligibility: SEA Europe calls for clearer eligibility criteria to ensure that European shipyards and maritime equipment suppliers can access aid for the production and modernisation of inland vessels. 📢 SEA Europe recommends that the European Commission’s rules include specific provisions to ensure that State aid supports the acquisition of vessels that are equipped with cutting-edge, sustainable technologies and that priority is given to European manufacturers and shipyards. “Europe’s inland waterways present a unique opportunity for greening, digitalization, and automation. However, without clear criteria that promote innovation, environmental stewardship, and support for European shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers, this opportunity could be lost,” said Christophe Tytgat, Secretary General of SEA Europe. SEA Europe remains committed to working with the European Commission to ensure that the inland waterways fleet of the future is both environmentally friendly and built in Europe, fostering innovation across the continent. 🌟

Representatives of the PU UMC took part in the Black Sea Common Maritime Agenda Stakeholder Conference 2024 On September 11-12, 2024, the international conference Black Sea Stakeholder Conference 2024 was held, with the agenda focusing on the main objectives of the Black Sea Common Maritime Agenda, namely     Healthy Marine and Coastal Ecosystems,   A Competitive, Innovative, and Sustainable Blue Economy for the Black Sea   Fostering Investment in the Black Sea Blue Economy.     The event discussed the challenges and opportunities of the blue economy, delving into discussions on innovation, energy transition, blue skills, pollution, etc. Stakeholders were able to take part in cross-sectoral exchanges, promote cooperation, exchange of scientific knowledge and best practices.   “For representatives of Ukraine, as a leading player in the Black Sea region, participation in such events is of strategic importance. It helps to integrate the Ukrainian maritime community into international projects and share best practices with international partners. An important role in this process is played by the Ukrainian Maritime Cluster, which actively promotes the integration of the Ukrainian maritime community into global initiatives, supports research and innovation projects, attracting investment in the blue economy of Ukraine. Participation in this conference allows us to stay at the forefront of implementing the latest technologies in the maritime industry, despite the current challenges,” – emphasized Artem Vashchylenko, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the PU “Ukrainian Maritime Cluster“.  Olha Raku, Project Manager of the PU “Ukrainian Maritime Cluster”, told more about the event, noting that the first plenary session was devoted to the topic “Marine scientific knowledge for the Black Sea blue economy”. It addressed the health of marine and coastal ecosystems. The latest scientific research and projects aimed at understanding the value of the Black Sea ecosystem, raising community awareness, and engaging stakeholders in addressing multifactorial issues were discussed.      The second topic was “Challenges and opportunities on the path to sustainable development and zero pollution”. This session focused on solving the problems of pollution and sustainable development of the Black Sea, as well as on funding opportunities for regional projects.      The third session was “Innovative Perspectives for the Blue Economy”, which analyzed investment opportunities for innovative companies and successful blue economy initiatives, such as converting plastic waste into energy and using artificial intelligence to combat marine litter, etc.   #BlackSeaConference2024 #UkrainianMaritimeCluster #SustainableBlueEconomy #CommonMaritimeAgenda #Innovation #MarineScience

🔎 Take a look at the interview with SEA Europe's Director of Trade and Competitiveness, conducted by Rob Willmington for Lloyd's List. 💡Vincent Guerre highlights the urgent need for a European maritime industrial strategy to enhance the competitiveness of European shipbuilding in the face of intense competition from Asia and strategic autonomy concerns for Europe. 🚢⚓️ Read the interview here 👇

Strengthening cooperation between the Polish Register of shipping and the Ukrainian Register of Shipping. On 25 July, the meeting of representatives of both institutions took place in the headquarters of the Polish Register. The principal subject of the discussion was the inauguration of Ukrainian Register representation at the Polish Register headquarters in Gdansk. Nowadays, the practical implementation of plans and measures of the previous agreement between two organization is underway. Lately, the meeting was held in Gdansk with the participation of General director of the Ukrainian Register Serhiy Gurskyi, the Administration of the Polish Register Grzegorz Pettke and Jacek Witt, Ukrainian consul Olexandr Plodystyi and an advisor to the Board of Directors of the Polish maritime technological forum Tadeusz Kopowski. The following joint initiatives of the Polish and Ukrainian registers signed before, which are to be implemented within the framework of the general agreement on cooperation, were the subject of the discussion. First and foremost they deal with the inauguration of the Ukrainian Register representation in Poland and holding a joint scientific and practical seminar. The assistance in the certification of Ukrainian products on the European market and mutual design and construction of ships within the frames of Polish and Ukrainian design bureaus may have become a significan element of such cooperation. In connection with the event Head of the Polish register of shipping Grzegorz Pettke said: “At the moment we are in the course of discussion of particular steps aimed at the location of Ukrainian Register representation, as well as an arrangement of the joint seminar concerning new products, innovations in shipbuilding, new requirements and the knowledge transfer. This seminar is going to take place either on the territory of Ukraine, or on-line, in the hibryd form. Now we are in the process of agreeing dates and a scope”. Serhyi Gurskyi, General manager of Ukrainian register made the following comment on the subject discussed: “We proceed with our cooperation with the Polish register in compliance with the general agreement signed in January. Today we have already disclosed our plans for the immediate future. We have also started our cooperation at the level of departments and top management of our enterprises. And, right now, we have come to an agreement to inaugurate Ukrainian register of shipping representation in the city of Gdansk at the Polish register of shipping headquarters.”