The members of the Global Industry Alliance (GIA) for Marine Biosafety gathered on 21 October at what is already the 5th meeting of the group, also coinciding with its first full year of existence.
The first half of the meeting focused on selecting the activities that will be part of the GIA work plan for 2022. In this regard, members stated once more their preference to progress on the development of educational content specifically aimed at raising awareness of different aspects related to biofouling management within ports and country administrations that may facilitate the uptake and deployment of new improved practices and technologies.
The GIA for Marine Biosafety is behind the new Report on the Impact of Ships’ Biofouling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions that will be soon introduced during a side event at COP 26 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Members reviewed the state of preparations and confirmed their readiness to promote the side event through their networks.
The final and main outcome of the meeting was the election of Mr. Yusik Kim, CEO of TAS Global, as the new Chair of the GIA. Thanking other members for their confidence, Mr. Kim expressed his commitment to lead the work of the GIA into its second year and underscored the need to expand membership to include some sectors that are currently not represented in the group, such as ports, shipbuilding and dry docks.