Gibraltar Hosts Red Ensign Group at Annual Conference
Gibraltar hosted fellow Red Ensign Group member states at the 26th Annual Red Ensign Group conference June 30th - July 4th, 2014.
The Red Ensign Group reports:
Gibraltar hosts REG Conference - Monday, 28 July 2014
Gibraltar welcomes the 26th Red Ensign Group Conference
On the 1-3 July 2014, the Government of Gibraltar played host to the annual Red Ensign Group (REG) Conference, welcoming delegates from the United Kingdom, the UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies which operate British Ship Registers.
Held over three days, the conference was co-chaired by Sir Alan Massey, Chief Executive of the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency; Richard Montado, Gibraltar Maritime Administrator; and Rob Cumbes, Chief Surveyor of the Gibraltar Maritime Administration. Celebrating the success of the British fleet, the vonference acts as an important forum to establish common policies and direction across the thirteen British ship registries represented. Delegates discussed and tackled a wide range of issues such as the impact of the Code for the Implementation of Mandatory IMO Instruments, the effects of sanctions on the shipping industry, the investigation of serious crimes on board REG registered ships, and a number of future strategic approaches to enhance the marketability of the Red Ensign as a flag of choice and quality.
The Conference was officially declared open on the Tuesday morning by His Excellency the Governor, Lieutenant-General Sir James Benjamin Dutton KCB CBE, with messages from the Honourable Neil Costa, Gibraltar Minister for Tourism, Public Transport and the Port; and the Honourable Stephen Hammond MP, UK Minister for Shipping.
In conclusion, the Conference reaffirmed the REG Vision as "to uphold the reputation of the Red Ensign by collectively promoting a large and diverse fleet without compromising quality." Statistics presented during the Conference demonstrated the continued strength of the 'Red Ensign' flag, with the combined size of the British registered commercial fleet currently standing at 48.8 million gross tons to remain one of the largest fleets in the world.
