MACN Kuala Lumpur Member Meeting Fall 2024

Welcome to day 2! We will kick off the day with a reflection on yesterday and hear updates from our local partners.

Speaker: Daniel Levison, Managing Partner, Morrison Foerster

Session Description
This session dives into ESG trends & compliance risks with a focus on Asia. The plenary exercise will be an opportunity for MACN members to get to know the existing trends in the compliance landscape as well as relevant ESG trends. The plenary session will aim to provide more guidance on compliance trends in Asia and leave members with some valuable information to bring home.

Speakers

• Mr. Kubota Hideo, Secretary - Tokyo MOU Secretariat
• Mr. Achintya Dutta, Secretary – Indian Ocean MOU Secretariat
• Rightship (TBC)
• MACN member contributions

Session Description
In this plenary session, the Secretariat will follow up on the 2024 Copenhagen members meeting, where some mutually agreed Challenges, Industry Action, and Company Action were outlined. They are as follows:

PSC Challenges identified:

• Lack of standardized practices and harmonized inspection approaches
• Conflicts between commercial interests and ethical practices
• Insufficient support and a blame-free culture
• Bureaucratic and legal hurdles
• Human factors like corruption, bribery, and harassment
• Poor communication and documentation issues raising questions about the current PSC system's necessity and effectiveness.

 
Industry actions identified: To ensure effective and ethical Port State Control (PSC) inspections, a focus on standardisation, transparency, and collaboration is essential.

Company actions identified: Empowering Frontline Staff and Fostering Transparency

MACN Next Steps identified: 

• New PSC Reporting Form: MACN members are encouraged to report unethical demands or unfair outcomes during PSC inspections using the new MACN PSC Reporting Form. For details, contact the Secretariat at macn@macn.dk.
• Ongoing Collaboration and Support: The MACN Secretariat will work with PSC MoUs and the IMO to support members, advocate for preventative measures, and develop capacity-building opportunities focused on integrity and transparency.
• Industry-wide Engagement: The MACN Secretariat will engage with its member value chain and other industry associations to strengthen support and preventative measures

 
We aim to answer some specific questions from the industry partners and hear from representatives attending from the PSC MoU Secretariats, Flag States, and other stakeholders.

How to prepare for this session
Members are requested to prepare for this session as follows:

• Check internally if you have experienced corruption challenges during PSC inspections.
• If so then, how do you prepare your vessels for high-risk ports, what procedures are provided to vessels?
• How do you follow up when such cases occur?
• Are you aware of the New MACN-PSC Reporting Form, and if yes, have you made use of it? If not, what are the challenges in using it?

Speakers

• Ola Granhus Mediås, Nordisk Defence Club
• Dorte Christensen, Hafnia
• Ann Shazell, Cargill  

Session Description
One of the workshops at the MACN Spring Meeting 2024 focused on the allocation of risks and operational or commercial consequences when the company rejects a corrupt demand. It was agreed that there is a need to find a more balanced approach between cargo owners, ship owners, and managers in terms of being responsible for these risks. The importance of involving the full trade chain was discussed e.g., not only traders but also cargo owners. The discussion was also focused on how a corrupt demand needs to be defined and the burden of proof that may lay on the captains to demonstrate they have taken adequate efforts to reject the corrupt demands but have been punished due to the rejection. It was also discussed that port state control inspections should be a specific focus as these inspections often have a larger commercial impact due to scoring by various vetting organizations. It was agreed to continue to focus on this and establish a working group. The group has since then met and agreed to review and suggest potential changes to the standard clauses in the market, which type of clause to focus on (voyage or time charter), and agreed to start to review the BIMCO clause (BIMCO has been kept informed about this). The working group also agreed to engage with vetting agencies with a focus on discussing the consequences and risks of being downgraded when rejecting a corrupt demand. The working group has suggested changes to the BIMCO clause and for this meeting, MACN seeks further input on these suggestions.

How to prepare for this session
Please review Appendix 2 and come prepared with comments and reflect on the following questions:

• How commercially viable would you consider a clause worded like this?
• What would be the benefit of this clause compared to the current landscape?
• Which changes would you be concerned with / could be problematic to get through in a charter party?
• Which other recommendations do you have for the clause?
• Which are the main disputes / pushback you see when seeking to include the original BIMCO Anti Corruption Clause; and
• what changes, if any, do you typically try to incorporate in the original BIMCO Anti Corruption Clause.

Speakers

• Øistein Jensen, Odfjell
• Martin Stene, MACN
• Martin Benderson, MACN

Session Description
In this session, we will explore the intricate connection between corruption and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We will discuss the legal and practical challenges faced by members in their (ES)G reporting efforts and examine regional developments in the Asian reporting landscape. Additionally, MACN has created a resource guide that summarizes metrics and questions related to business ethics in the maritime industry, which may be beneficial to support your ESG reporting. You can access the guide here.

How to prepare for this session

• Reflect on and bring forward any legal or practical challenges encountered in your own ESG reporting processes related to Governance and business ethics. This will facilitate a more productive dialogue during the session.

Speakers

• Kasper Nielsen, MACN
• Christina Berg, Turtle Maritime Matchmaking

 
Session Description
As part of MACN's 2030 strategy, this session aims to engage members in a conversation about seafarers’ exposure to corruption risks in recruitment. TURTLE, a maritime recruitment platform, will present key findings from their recent survey on this topic. This will be followed by a discussion to explore the implications and share perspectives. An interactive exercise will gather ideas on how MACN can best contribute to tackling these challenges, and more importantly, what the role of MACN should be going forward. Join us to engage with fellow members, gain insights, and shape strategies to protect seafarers and combat illegal recruitment practices.
 
How to prepare for this session
To prepare for this session, we recommend familiarizing yourself with the survey by TURTLE; Illegal Recruitment Fees Report 2024, as well as the article from the MACN Insider Bulletin Issue 2 titled Confronting Illicit Payments in Seafarers' Recruitment. The article also outlines the issue of corruption in the education and recruitment of seafarers from a previous study.

As a next step, we kindly request that you take a moment to reflect on whether your company is aware of the issue of corruption in seafarers' education and recruitment processes. If possible, please share your experiences and any relevant mitigation measures your organization has implemented to address this concern.

Speaker: Mats Sæther, CEO, Nordisk Defence Club

Session Description 
In this session, Mats Sæther will present the issues around the Dark Fleet. Mats will introduce this topic and highlight current observable trends. The purpose of this session is to raise awareness on the issue of the Dark Fleet and to explore potential links to maritime corruption and MACN’s network work. This will be followed by a Q&A session in which the presenter will be asked a few questions. (They are subject to change when the secretariat receives his slides. If the secretariat sees that the questions have been answered during the presentations, these shall be removed.)
The attendees of this session will be able to know how their business could face potential threats for this shadow fleet and how to make sure that they mitigate them while remaining safe. Key takeaways will include strategies for ship owners to avoid inadvertently facilitating trade with these illicit fleets, an understanding of the corruption issues intertwined with dark fleet operations, and a critical evaluation of current monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. Furthermore, participants will explore how collective action from organisations like MACN can influence international policies to combat the growth of shadow fleets effectively.

Speaker: Therry van Vreden, Ben Lines Agencies

Session Description
This session will provide key takeaways from the pre-event "Insights from Malaysia on Combating Corruption in the Port & Maritime Sector", which took place on October 22 at the Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur.

In partnership with the Central Region Shipping Association (CRSA) and the Shipowners' Association Malaysia (SAM), MACN is announcing the launch of a Port Integrity Campaign in Port Klang. The campaign, which will launch the 1st of January 2025, aims to empower stakeholders to confidently "Say No" to corrupt demands, reducing corruption and fostering a more transparent and efficient operational environment. During this session, MACN will share more information about the campaign and highlight the next steps in this initiative.