SEA Europe’s call acknowledged: Time to work together towards a European Maritime Industrial Strategy!
During a roundtable co-hosted by MEP Catherine Chabaud and MEP Pierre Karleskind with nearly 150 persons in a full room, several speakers from the maritime community voiced the urgent need for a European maritime industrial strategy to support the competitiveness of European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers, and the business case for sustainable and digitalised vessels.
MEP Pierre Karleskind declared: "European maritime industry has great innovative and technical potential, and we, the European Parliament, but also the European Commission, must live up to it. The green potential, in particular, is under-exploited. I have tirelessly promoted the role of our maritime industry in decarbonizing maritime transportation, especially through sail propulsion. Tomorrow’s green ships must be European ships!"
Christophe Tytgat, Secretary-General of SEA Europe, commented: "It is imperative to regain Europe's shipbuilding capacity by securing orders from shipowners, including European shipowners. To this end, the European maritime technology industry has a clear 3-fold ambition:
1) Consolidate its global leadership in complex shipbuilding and maritime equipment manufacturing,
2) Regain strategic ship types for the European Blue Economy, for example in shortsea shipping, passenger transport and fisheries,
3) Conquer emerging markets such as offshore renewable energy and carriers of alternative fuels”.
Several Members of the European Parliament and Commission officials attended the event.
“We welcome the rising interest from policymakers for the competitiveness of the maritime technology industry. In a changing world with new risks and threats, regaining industrial capacity is a factor of stability for Europe. We want do achieve this goal together with policymakers and the other stakeholders from the maritime community, in particular shipowners, operators of offshore renewable energy, and all the interested sectors of the Blue Economy”, concluded Christophe Tytgat.
SEA Europe’s policy recommendations for a European Maritime Industrial Strategy are here.
