The Confederation of European Shipmasters (CESMA) Council Meeting and Annual General Assembly were held in Varna, Bulgaria this year. Varna is the home-port of CESMA President Capt. Dimitar Dimitrov Ph.D and the local organisation, the Bulgarian Shipmasters Association, lead by Capt. Ivan Conev, Capt. Stanislas Stoyanov and Capt. Ivaylo Paskov, organised a full agenda of events over a two-day period. The Irish Institute of Master Mariners was represented by Capt. Bill Kavanagh (CESMA Council) and Capt. Aine Hyde (IIMM Council). It was noted that Capt. Hyde is the first female captain in command to attend a CESMA Council Meeting.






The IIMM was successful in obtaining agreement for a resolution seeking a greater emphasis by ship managers on the mental health and wellbeing of seafarers. The CESMA resolutions will be forwarded to the European Commission. The IIMM also made a significant contribution regarding the new IMO requirements for the carriage of high storage batteries on ships. The Annual General Assembly main theme was ‘green shipping’ and a number of speakers presented a vision of the future with the decarbonisation of shipping, the move to hydrogen fuelled engines, the re-design of hulls and propellers, green shipping corridors, sustainable shipping and ship recycling transparency.
Capt. Dimitar and Capt. Ivan were presented with IIMM ties as a thanks for holding a very informative and enjoyable event.
