YoungShip Sri Lanka appoints new Executive Committee 2022
The new YoungShip Executive Committee was appointed at the recent Annual General Meeting held on the 11th of February 2022.
After the YoungShip’s 2021 AGM, the committee were very optimistic about the Covid situation in Sri Lanka & expected the situation to improve in comparison to 2020. Enthusiasm was high for a very eventful and engaging year with the global vaccine rollout. The committee planned a very active events calendar for 2021, however the situation & country regulations made it impossible to action the physical events planned and the committee had to in a very short period of time adjust our activities to be hosted virtually.
With majority of the membership working from home and workplaces operating virtually, YoungShip took this opportunity to further grow its online presence & increase our activities on the newly launched social media pages. YoungShip was able to launch its YouTube channel with videos on International Women’s Day, International Seafarers Day & the very successful panel discussion – New Normal in Shipping, Are Current Shipping Trends here to stay?. YoungShip also conducted a virtual games & networking event for our members called The Connect in September 2021 & assisted CASA (Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents) to conduct the successful CASA YoungShip Virtual Pub Quiz in November 2021. As the situation in the country improved gradually, YoungShip was able to conduct a physical Pub Quiz adhering to all Covid guidelines issued by authorities in January 2022 that was well participated and appreciated by the membership.
The Executive Committee for the year 2022 comprises a group of committed, enthusiastic young professionals. The 12-member Executive Committee is as follows:
Office bearers:
Chairman – Mr. Rishantha Mendis (Prudential Shipping)
Vice Chair – Ms. Maleena Awn (Meridian Maritime Services Ltd)
Secretary – Mr. Nirmal Dissanayake (Eastern Maritime (Colombo) Ltd)
Treasurer – Mr. Prashan Fernando (Panama Shipping (Pvt) Ltd)
Assistant Secretary – Ms. Aruni Wijepala (Hayleys Energy Services Lanka (Pvt) Ltd)
Assistant Treasurer – Mr. Sunera Wijesekara (Eastern Maritime (Colombo) Ltd)
Immediate Past Chair – Mr. Jehan Rodrigo (Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co (Sh) Ltd)
Members of the Executive Committee:
Mr. Shane De Alwis (Hapag Lloyd Lanka (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Shehan Perera (Sri Lanka Shipping Company Ltd)
Mr. Imaad Hameem (Evergreen Shipping Agency Lanka (Pvt) Ltd)
Ms. Patali Karunarathne (Ceyline Agencies (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Dineth Rajapakse (McLarens (Pvt) Ltd)
YoungShip Sri Lanka’s plans for the forthcoming year include the YoungShip Open Quiz 2022, many networking nights, pub quizzes, seminars / workshops with industry speakers / panellists, CSR initiatives to name a few of the projects in the pipeline.
The Executive Committee wishes to convey its sincere thanks and appreciation to its Patrons & The Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) for their continuous support and guidance to YoungShip.
Message of the Chairman
Hello YoungShip International Network!
It is with pleasure we announce to you of the launch of YoungShip Sri Lanka. The formal launch of YoungShip Sri Lanka was concluded on the 25th of September, during the much publicized and sought after “Sri Lanka Maritime Week” event with participation from all the major stakeholders in Sri Lanka’s Maritime Industry including top corporates, ship agencies, ports and terminals.
Sri Lanka throughout history has been a major port when transporting goods from the East to West. Port of Colombo was known to Roman, Arab, and Chinese traders more than 2000 years ago & by the 8th century, Arab Muslim traders settled in Colombo as a base for their trade for that part of the world. Throughout history the port of Colombo has been a pivotal transit hub along the Silk route and continues to be a vital stop when transporting good from the east to the west, in recent time the port of Colombo is vital transit hub for the south Asian region and in the year 2017 with was ranked the 25th most busiest container port in the world handling a throughput of over 6.2 Million TEUS. For 2017/18 the port of Colombo was recognized as the fastest growing major port in the world, recording a growth rate of 15.6% above Singapore (11%) and Guangzhou (8.6%).
In Sri Lanka’s Maritime lansdscape, the Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) acts as the voice of the shipping industry with a membership of over 130 organizations. CASA felt the need to create a forum for the youth of the Industry in order to bridge the gap that existed at the time, and it is with this in mind that Young Shipping professionals of CASA (YSP) was formed in the year 2013. With the formation of YSP, a continuous effort was made by YSP to bridge the gap between the veterans in Shipping and the youth in shipping. YSP operated with several objectives in mind; to enhance knowledge sharing, socializing and networking, promoting ethical competition and sustainability. Through the years YSP has continuously empowered the youth by organizing many events such as membership evenings and fellowship events, port visits, sporting events such as cricket and karting tournaments, educational seminars covering a wide range of topics, multiple CSR projects and also a highly successful open quiz with collaboration from CASA bringing the youth of the industry together. YSP of CASA has now reached the juncture where it is necessary to enhance value to our membership. YSP thus felt the need to engage in an international collaboration and become part of a wider network for the future.
YoungShip was an attractive proposition for YSP in that the objectives of the two bodies are also closely aligned promoting values of ethics, enhancing knowledge sharing, socializing and networking. As YoungShip Sri Lanka, our immediate tasks include consolidating our current position in the industry, particularly boosting our membership and delivering value additions to our members. In the course of the coming months, we hope to roll out the below events. Our next plans include arranging a port visit and a networking evening to get all the members in one common forum, we have planned to have a repeat of last year’s highly successful open quiz with collaboration from CASA. The quiz is to be conducted by IQA adhering to International Quizzing standards. Youngship Sri Lanka has also planned a series of educational seminars and information exchange programs on a range of industry topics. In addition, YoungShip Sri Lanka maintains an active Facebook page with regular information feeds and exchanges on topics of interest to the maritime industry.
We also hope to partner with YoungShip International and enhance exposure to attend functions in countries outside of Sri Lanka, and to engage with the Young Maritime Professionals in other parts of the world to thus broaden our outlook and learn and exchange ideas with you all leading for stronger future co-operation. As the industry becomes more challenging it is expected the up to date professional also would up their game to overcome the challenges. Youngship offers a platform to drive forward these changes and we warmly welcome you all to be part of our journey for the future.
YoungShip AGM 2021
Moving on from a year of unprecedented challenges unlike ever faced before in this generation, the New Year brings renewed hope and optimism, along with these renewed ambitions the new YoungShip Executive Committee was appointed at the recent Annual General Meeting held on the 3rd February 2021, with their first Executive Committee Meeting held on 12th February 2021
A new executive committee from various segments of the maritime and shipping industry coming together, showing promise for an eventful and educational year ahead whilst striving to empower the youth of the industry. YoungShip Sri Lanka has also taken a proactive step to be the association representing the youth of the shipping industry with the addition of the Associate Member category, allowing for the first time for individuals working in non CASA Member companies to join YoungShip ( any individual currently working in a company associated to the Maritime industry) thereby greatly increasing its representation within the Shipping industry.
The Executive Committee for the year 2021 comprises a group of committed, enthusiastic young professionals. The 10 member executive committee is as follows:
Office bearers
Chairman – Mr. Rishantha Mendis (Prudential Shipping)
Vice Chair – Ms. Maleena Awn (Wilhelmsen Meridian Navigation Ltd)
Secretary – Mr. Nirmal Dissanayake (Eastern Maritime (Colombo) Ltd)
Treasurer – Mr. Prashan Fernando (Panama Shipping (Pvt) Ltd)
Assistant Secretary – Ms. Sasanka Edirirathnage (GAC Shipping Ltd)
Assistant Treasurer – Mr. Sunera Wijesekara (Eastern Maritime (Colombo) Ltd)
Immediate Past Chair – Mr. Jehan Rodrigo (Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co (Sh) Ltd)
Members of the Executive committee
Mr. Shane De Alwis (Hapag Lloyd Lanka (Pvt) Ltd)
Mr. Wilhelm Yohan Randy (Maersk Lanka Pvt Ltd)
Ms. Aruni Wijepala (Hayleys Energy Services Lanka (Pvt) Ltd)
Ms. Yuwani Opatha (Ceyline Shipping (Pvt) Ltd)
Some of our plans for the forthcoming year include the YoungShip Open Quiz 2021, many Networking nights, pub quizzes, Seminars/workshops with industry speakers/panelists, CSR initiatives to name a few of the projects in the pipeline.
The Executive Committee wishes to convey its sincere thanks and appreciation to its Patrons & The Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) for their continuous support and guidance to YoungShip.
We extend our sincere gratitude to our committed sponsors and all organizations who have supported the empowerment of Youth and the growth of YoungShip since its inception.
We welcome on board our new members and extend our felicitation to our membership for their keen participation in all of our events. We look forward to yet another great year ahead!!