International Chamber of Shipping opens first overseas office in Hong Kong as it aims for stronger ties with increasingly influential China

The London-based International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents the interests of commercial shipowners worldwide, has established its first overseas office in Hong Kong as China’s status as a global maritime power rises.

The organisation’s new China Liaison Office was opened on Thursday in a ceremony attended by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. Initially staffed by just one person, a maritime lawyer, its goal is to help build relationships with Chinese shipowners and regulators as their influence in the industry grows, said ICS secretary general Guy Platten.

“Hong Kong is seen as a gateway to China. We want to foster better relations with Chinese shipowners and regulators, so it’s an obvious step to make,” Platten told the Post. He said he hoped to increase the headcount in the new office over time, and that members of the ICS would be making more trips to Hong Kong as well.

Chinese ship-leasing companies, which buy vessels then lease them back on long-term contracts to shipping lines, have grown rapidly to be among the biggest in the world.

The country’s shipbuilding industry now rivals those of Japan and South Korea, and six of the world’s top 10 container ports are now in China, not including Hong Kong. As of mid 2019, maritime analytics firm Vessels Value estimated that China’s commercial fleet was the second most valuable, after Greece’s.

Platten said a big part of the ICS’ job was representing shipowners in matters concerning international regulatory bodies, such as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), to make sure their voices are heard “loud and clear”.

Established almost a century ago, the ICS describes itself as the industry’s “principal international trade association”, whose members operate 80 per cent of the world’s merchant tonnage.

As yet, China’s own shipowners’ association is not a member of the ICS.