Industry leaders from across the global maritime value chain launched the All Aboard Alliance in Zurich on Tuesday.
The alliance will provide a platform for collaborative action to make the maritime industry more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, the Global Maritime Forum announced in a statement.
The forum said that the backdrop for setting up the alliance was the fact that global seaborne trade relies on millions of people working in the maritime sector – onshore and at sea. In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in light of changing demographics and increased global competition for talent, the maritime industry needed to step up collective efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion to expand the talent pool.
“The All Aboard Alliance endeavours to significantly improve diversity, equity, and inclusion measures across the board. It is imperative at this pivotal time, where a diversity of skills and competencies is paramount to innovating our way through the continuous evolution and developments in decarbonisation, digitalisation, and automation,” Hafnia CEO and co-chair of the All Aboard Alliance, Mikael Skov, said.
The alliance is designed around five principles, which member companies are encouraged to implement in internal policies, procedures, and leadership practices. These include the need to:
* Appoint a business sponsor to lead and ensure accountability of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organisation
* Equip and educate people to understand their role in fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace – from senior leaders through to line managers and team members
* Create and maintain an organisational culture of equity and belonging where everyone has equal opportunities to contribute and thrive
* Capture relevant data and develop insights to evaluate progress and evolve strategic objectives
* Communicate commitment and progress externally on an annual basis.
Member companies will report annually on actions and progress on each principle and work together to make progress across the industry.
“To retain its competitiveness and to successfully deal with the challenges headed our way, the maritime industry needs to increasingly work together to retain existing talent and attract new. The All Aboard Alliance is here to lead and facilitate this transformation through the collaboration and actions of its member companies, and to take the immediate steps needed to move from intent to action with an impact,” South32 head of shipping and co-chair of the All Aboard Alliance, Su Yin Anand, said.
Senior leaders from across the maritime industry gathered at the first All Aboard Alliance high-level meeting to establish the initial work programme. The formation of the alliance follows discussions at the Global Maritime Forum’s Virtual High-Level Meeting in 2020. A total of 26 companies committed to leading the transformation, including Anglo-Eastern, Ardmore Shipping Corporation, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, Bureau Veritas, Caravel Group, Cargill Ocean Transportation, Danaos Corporation, Dorian LPG, Fednav Limited, Fleet Management, G2 Ocean, GasLog, Gorrissen Federspiel, Hafnia, Höegh Autoliners, Höegh LNG, International Seaways, Lloyd’s Register, Mitsui OSK Lines, Ocean Technologies Group, Purus Marine, South32, Svitzer, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, TURTLE GO and VIKAND Solutions.
