Freight News, Sea

MBE for FTA’s Chris Welsh

[ June 16, 2015   //   Chris ]

The Freight Transport Association’s director of global and European policy Chris Welsh has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list for services to shippers and the shipping industry. The award recognises his leading role in representing of UK freight shippers to the European Union and global organisations for over 30 years and in bringing shipper representatives together from across the world. In June 2011 he became the first secretary general of the Global Shippers’ Forum.
Chris Welsh has played a leading role in the representation of UK freight shippers to the European Union and global organisations for over 30 years and in bringing shipper representatives together from across the world giving voice to their collective concerns in the safe, efficient and sustainable movement of global freight. 
Chris Welsh has been involved in FTA’s international affairs since 1994 when he became its permanent representative to the European Union.
He led a campaign amongst national shippers’ associations in Europe to challenge the practices of liner conferences and, in 1996, he was appointed secretary general of the European Shippers Council, where he persuaded the European Commission to investigate the then Trans-Atlantic Agreement (TAA) member shipping lines in the setting of rates and withholding of capacity.  A case was prosecuted through the European commission and in 2002 the European Court of Justice found in favour of shippers following an appeal of the Commission’s decision against the TAA and TACA Agreements.
In 2000/02 he led a delegation to the OECD that challenged the wisdom and net benefits of shipping conferences. The report published by OECD led directly to the European Commission to review its Block Exemption ultimately leading to its repeal and a prohibition of shipping conferences in 2008.
He has chaired working groups of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) which recently revised Guidelines for the safe stowage of transport units, subsequently upgraded to a Code of Practice. He also played a pivotal role in IMO in securing agreement on new rules concerning the verification of container weights.
He was also secretary general of the European Air Shippers Council since 1998 where he was successful in bringing an end to cargo tariff co-ordination in the EU. In 2010, he played a leading role in establishing the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group that co-ordinates the efforts of airlines, freight forwarders and air cargo shippers in improving efficiency and sustainability.

Tags: FTA