zoom Philippe Louis-Dreyfus, of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, has been appointed the new president of the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), the largest international shipping association representing shipowners.His term will last for the next two years. In his accession speech at BIMCO’s AGM in Edinburgh, Louis-Dreyfus described BIMCO as “the global association that should be closest to the commercial realities of shipping business.”Leadership and practical support for shipping businesses emerged as strong themes of his vision for BIMCO in the coming years of his presidency.The new president said he wanted to see BIMCO take on a leadership role for its members to help promote the excellent work and achievements of the industry in areas like safety, pollution and the environment. He also called for the industry – and shipping associations especially – to be more proactive in responding to changes in these areas.“It is not too late to influence future politics, so that they are not just imposed on us. I strongly believe that BIMCO has the global visibility and the recognition that cannot be easily replicated and is a powerful tool in bringing the industry together on the issues that affect us all most – giving BIMCO the ability to be a powerful agent for change and for promoting best practice on important business and regulatory areas,” said Louis-Dreyfus.Mr Louis-Dreyfus cited the development of a standard ship finance term sheet form as a key example of BIMCO providing practical support to shipping businesses, as it will help BIMCO members to simplify and standardise their ship financing documentation and reduce the legal costs of each transaction.During his term, Louis-Dreyfus will also see the development of the Shipping KPI System, which BIMCO has taken over from InterManager.This is a tool that will allow shipowners, operators and managers to benchmark and monitor their company and ship performance in order to drive efficiency and improved results.Louis-Dreyfus also announced that BIMCO would be reviewing its overall corporate identity, following some core research with members, and will use the outcome of this research to revisit BIMCO’s core values and develop its corporate identity to ensure that these values are at the heart of its activities.