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The European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) says the process to appoint the successor to Patrick Verhoeven, who is due to officially vacate his post as Secretary General on September 1, is ongoing.

"We don't have a new Secretary General appointed just yet," the ECSA told Bunker Index on Thursday.

Verhoeven has been a key voice for European shipowners during his four-year tenure at the ECSA. In October, following the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) landmark implementation of the 0.5 percent global sulphur cap for 2020, he said: "It is good news that IMO took a decision on the global deadline as shipowners need certainty. Year 2020 is tomorrow however, so we have to speed up work on implementation. In particular, we have to ensure that there is quality fuel available everywhere in the world and that adequate enforcement measures are in place to ensure a global level playing field."

Earlier this year, Verhoeven was adamant that establishing a regional EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) if the IMO does not have a comparable system in place could negatively impact a future IMO-level agreement.

"The request of [the European] Parliament to already have a system comparable to the EU ETS operating globally two years earlier ignores and jeopardises the international commitment that IMO countries, including all EU Member States, have signed up to," Verhoeven asserted in February.

After last month's 71st Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the ECSA said that "important progress" had been made to develop a CO2 reduction strategy in line with the Paris COP21.

"We are confident that IMO will now be able to deliver an ambitious strategy at the next IMO working group meeting in October," Verhoeven remarked in July.

Speaking on the day of the announcement of Verhoeven's departure, ECSA President, Niels Smedegaard, said: "I would like to thank him for his modernisation of the ECSA secretariat, commitment and contributions to the many important topics which the European Shipowners Community has faced during his tenure."

The ECSA confirmed in May that the search process for a new Secretary General had started and that an executive search company was being selected to manage the recruitment process.

In his new role, Verhoeven will be acting as Managing Director Policy and Strategy at the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) - the Tokyo-headquartered global trade association for seaports worldwide.

Image: Patrick Verhoeven, Secretary General of the ECSA.