ECSA

European Shipowners (ESCA) is a trade association for the European shipping industry. European Shipowners control 34.5% of the global commercial fleet, contribute €148.7 billion per year to the EU GDP, and employ 1.7 million people both on board and ashore.

Founded in 1965 under the name Comité des Associations d'Armateurs des Communautés Européennes (CAACE), ES|ECSA promotes the interests of 21 member associations of the EU and Norway. As a trade association, ES | ECSA strives for a regulatory environment that fosters the international competitiveness of European shipping, to the benefit of the EU.

Organisation

ES|ECSA works through a permanent secretariat in Brussels led by Secretary General Sotiris Raptis, a Board of Directors and a number of specialised committees and working groups. The current presidency consist of President Mikki Koskinen and Vice-President Nikolas Veniamis.

The organisation is recognised by the European Institutions as the representative body of the European shipping sector, and is registered in the European Commission's Transparency Register for Interest Representatives since 23 June 2008.

Member Associations

Source:

(in alphabetical order)

• Belgium: Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association
• Bulgaria: Bulgarian Shipowners Association
• Croatia: Croatian Shipowners' Association Mare Nostrum
• Cyprus: Joint Cyprus Shipowners' Association
• Denmark: Danish Shipping
• Estonia: Estonian Shipowners' Association
• Finland: Finnish Shipowners' Association
• France: Armateurs de France
• Germany: Verband Deutscher Reeder
• Greece: Union of Greek Shipowners
• Ireland: Irish Chamber of Shipping
• Italy: Confederazione Italiana Armatori
• Lithuania: Lithuanian Shipowners
• Luxembourg: Fedilshipping
• Malta: Malta International Shipping Council
• Netherlands: Koninklijke Vereniging van Nederlandse Reders
• Norway: Norwegian Shipowners' Association
• Poland: Polish Shipping Association
• Portugal: Associação de Armadores da Marinha de Comercio
• Spain: Asociación de navieros españoles
• Sweden: Swedish Shipowners' Association

Many ES|ECSA members are also members of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).

The European shipping industry

The European shipping industry controls 34.5% of the global merchant fleet. This amounts to 570 million gross tonnes and 22,400 vessels.

Shipping is a valuable economic and geopolitical asset of the European Union. In 2018, it delivered €54 billion to the EU's GDP. This translates into €78,000 GDP per worker, compared to the EU average of €63,000. Its direct economic impact is significant, with 685,000 persons employed in both sea- and land-based jobs in the same year. Taking into consideration the indirect and induced impacts, the total economic impact of European shipping amounts to €149 billion and 2 million jobs. For every €1 million GDP the European shipping industry creates, another €1.8 million is supported elsewhere in the EU economy.

The European Shipping Summit

European Shipowners | ECSA is the main organiser of the European Shipping Summit, a bi-annual two-day event bringing together European shipowners, the maritime sector and its supply chain, European and international policy makers, NGOs, industry stakeholders, seafarers and maritime workers to discuss the future of shipping and the biggest challenges of our time.

The next edition will take place on 17–18 March 2027.

See also

• International Chamber of Shipping
• International Maritime Organization (the United Nations agency with responsibility for the safety of life at sea and the protection of the marine environment)
• International Labour Organization
• UNCTAD review of maritime transport (annual UNCTAD publication)
• European Transport Workers' Federation

External links

• Official website of ECSA
• 2020 Report of the ‘Economic Value of the EU Shipping Industry” by Oxford Economics