The arrival of spring is supposed to signal change, new life and the dawn of brighter times after the hardships of winter. There has certainly been plenty of change in the air recently – geopolitics and moves to resolve some of the long running and destructive conflicts around the world dominate the headlines, and there has not been a great deal to cheer recently in terms of concrete results on those fronts . That is why the outcome of the recent MEPC meeting in London has to be seen as a ray of sunshine and something that the shipping industry should be celebrating. Of course, not everyone is happy with the outcome-that will always be the case when you have to find a middle ground and there is still plenty of work to do. The imposition of penalties for those who fail to adopt cleaner fuels is not only a significant step on the long, painful and expensive road to net zero, but is another example of the shipping industry introducing vital legislation in a measured, largely consensual manner while taking into account so many divergent views. Amidst all the bad news circulating in recent weeks, the headline in a leading UK daily newspaper of ‘Shipping is first industry to agree fines for gas emissions’ put shipping back on the front foot in terms of the public’s perception that it takes its environmental responsibility seriously and is more than just the crucial artery of global trade. MEPC 83 has to be seen as a ray of sunshine In a time when relatively short grace periods are being granted for consultation and review on areas such as tariffs which will have a profound effect on the global economy, 10 years might seem to be a remarkably long and drawn out period to get to this point. Shipping’s record on the introduction and implementation of legislation can be criticised for moving at a glacial pace, but history shows that the end result of these protracted discussions is for the longer terms benefit of those both inside and outside the industry. One of the most far reaching maritime conventions, SOLAS 74, finally came into force in 1980 after it was finally ratified by 25 nations. That is quite a gap from its original conception in 1914 in the aftermath of the Titanic sinking, although that did not prevent the intention of the convention being broadly adopted during that six-decade gap. Things seemed to accelerate as the twentieth century progressed and the 1973 MARPOL convention, which saw segregated ballast tanks introduced on most new tankers built after 1982, was a huge contributor to cleaner seas. As a child who got covered in oil after walking into washed up crude from ballast tanks on a British beach, I will be forever grateful. The changes introduced last week in London are probably the most far reaching in decades in terms of covering all aspects of shipping. The previously most far reaching legislation was probably OPA 90 and the introduction of double hull tankers. Again, the concept was greeted with horror by many industry players when it was first mooted, but through sensible regulation with a realistic timescale taking into account the views of all parties, the transition to what is unarguably a more environmentally friendly fleet was achieved without undue disruption or cost to end users. Regulation rushed through without due thought and consideration is rarely effective. It has taken a long time, but let’s raise a glass to IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez and everyone who has toiled for years to being about this l