Summer is grudgingly approaching temperatures seem to plummet immediately after each warm spell and we can take stock of a very nervy spring.

The Iraq War is over so far as fighting is concerned but the Allies have yet to win the Peace. Also we have not found either the elusive Saddam or the Weapons of Mass Destruction. So it is an uneasy time while the Road Map Towards Peace is pored over and debated.

Then there is the continuing anxiety over SARS. I went to Hong Kong in March/April to speak at the Centenary Dinner of Wallem & Co. It was a splendid occasion but rather muted on account of the dreaded virus. The sight of millions in their masks including receptionists at ones hotel is not too welcoming. I tried wearing one which merely steamed up my glasses so I had to give up.

Nevertheless these two World happenings have had a profound short term (and almost certainly long-term) effect on Shipping.

Oil prices have oscillated up and down while Wet and Dry bulk rates have achieved record highs. Meanwhile the economies of the big nations of the East have suffered particularly through SARS. There is a defined hiccup in production in China which has become the predominant producer of consumer products... not good news for the already struggling and potentially overtonnaged container Lines. "Globalisation" has forcibly meant that none of us is unaffected by far-off events.

A good, hopefully positive, feature of the Hong Kong visit was that I was able to renew contact with many old Chinese Ship owner friends who I hope will join or, in some cases, rejoin IMIF.

The year has been marked by continuing activity by the European Commission under the energetic Ms Palacio, who has found a 'cause' in the name of Safety.

I chaired a conference in Brussels this May when a German MEP Brigitte Langenhagen who is from Cuxhaven gave a quite emotional address on the need to do something quickly to stop the "almost daily" (sic) examples of tanker strandings, sinkings etc, etc and the consequent oil pollution and ecological disaster. I pointed out that
(a) Her facts were wrong
(b) The EU is unilaterally embarking on extreme, unwanted measures
(c) The EU is thereby undermining the Authority of IMO and confusing the situation by hurried new regulations, of which we already have a sufficiency
(d) The EU appears to take the attitude that anyone who pleads caution is merely obstructive and old fashioned and protecting the 'status quo'.... a manifestly unfair argument.

Brigitte was unimpressed and maintained her stance with crusading passion. It is a situation surely that IMIF must address. I suggested that, in order to achieve better information and a balanced opinion the EU should talk to IMIF and not solely appeal to former Commissioner Bangemann's MIF whose membership and status seem currently not to be of the highest.

There are two other areas of concern that we need to address. One is the sad apparent decline of the comity of the sea. I refer here to such incidents as the "Tampa" (refusal by a nation to accept, even temporarily, people found by a passing ship afloat and in distress) and the notorious "Prestige" where a stricken ship was denied a Port of Refuge; the latter by no means the first of such incidents.

I have, inter alia, suggested that the topic, on the lines of "The dangers confronting the unwritten comity/conventions of the Sea" should be that of a debate to take place at the "First Seatrade London International Maritime Conference" in September where I will be in the Chair.

I also spoke at the hugely attended Annual Charity Ball of the Nautical Institute in Dubai in March. Dubai is a quite remarkable place, vibrating with Maritime activity and already handling 4.2 million teu's per annum. The only negative feature of the visit was my pusillanimous concern at the incipient outbreak of war further up the Gulf. The locals, however, displayed total, insouciance about the potential threat!

Finally some news of our Members.

We congratulate Chris Spencer on his election as President of the Institute of Marine Surveyors; a two year appointment. I spoke at the Institute's Annual Dinner fast month. Also David Taylor has added to his prestigious responsibilities by becoming Chairman of the Association of Average Adjusters.

We said "Sayonara' to Junichi Matsumura on his return to Japan, concurrently welcoming Kei Tanaka his successor as Director General of the Japan Ship Centre.

As always may I invite you when you are in the vicinity of the IMIF offices at the Baltic Exchange to please feel free to visit us. We shall always be pleased to see you.

J G Davis - CBE