Building on 2025 – strengthening MISA for 2026 and beyond

Claudia Vella Casagrande, MISA Secretary General

Dear Members, I hope that you all are working with focused energy that builds on the momentum we achieved over the past year. I am grateful for how much we have achieved together over 2025, with our collective voice reaching a new level of resonance in Valletta, Brussels, and beyond. We have proven that we are an effective partner in the global maritime dialogue and a bridge between industry and public authorities and between Malta and the international maritime community.

In addition to being admitted as full members of ICS and successfully advocated for Malta to join the the Clean Energy Marine (CEM) Hubs initiative, we also enhanced out engagement with Maltese authorities, undertook more structured advocacy through submissions to national, EU and international processes both directly and through industry associations we are affiliated with. We also took efforts to improve communication and interactions with members and became more engaged through social media participation, news articles and participation at events. Additionally, in Malta, we were elected to the Board of the Malta Maritime Forum and supported the creation of WISTA Malta. The highlight of the year was our 20 anniversary celebration with a first high-level exchange of views and a wonderful gala dinner that highlighted the importance of the association to the Maltese maritime community, the Maltese administration and our international partners. Read the highlights and enjoy the photos here.

With increased visibility comes increased responsibility. As our influence grows, so do the expectations placed upon us. To stay ahead, 2026 must be a year of "building from within." Therefore, to ensure our advocacy remains as sharp and consistent as ever, we are taking deliberate steps to reinforce MISA’s internal capacity.

Following up on our October AGM, we will be revising our statutes this year. This exercise will ensure that the Association’s governance framework remains up to date with legal requirements, reflects MISA’s growth, and is apt to govern MISA in the years to come.

In order to fulfil our commitment to the AGM to strengthen the Association's communications and outreach and to become more visible and accessible, we have debuted a refreshed website and this new structured newsletter (which, as you can see, has a lot of information collected for you - and we have some requests for your input). This newsletter aims to keep members informed of key developments, advocacy actions, funding opportunities, regulatory updates and events. It is not intended to be exhaustive. Members are warmly invited to share feedback and contribute news or perspectives for inclusion in future editions. Such engagement helps ensure our communications reflect operational reality and the collective interests of our membership.

Our strength has always been our members. We will continue to pursue our priority of growing our membership to become more representative of the Malta flagged fleet - across segments, companies and countries. As called upon by MISA President at the AGM, we seek members' support in joining the collective effort to pursue this aim. The more we are and the more resources we have, the stronger and more effective MISA can be.

Our new ‘Associate Membership' category, which was approved at the 2025 AGM, will bring in a new tier of collaborators that are linked or wish to be linked with Malta registered ships. I invite you to suggest partners who would make excellent associate members to help us diversify our network. By welcoming entities from the wider maritime ecosystem into our fold, we enrich our perspective and strength while keeping the shipowner's voice firmly at the helm.

An enhanced MISA presence locally and internationally requires that we stay more connected with our members. We will continue our active efforts to connect with members as our strength lies in the collective work we do as an association, because together we are stronger. Thus I encourage members to engage with the Secretariat with any concerns it may be of help with, any advocacy priorities and also any suggestions for improvement.

By reinforcing our structure and resources today, we aren't just maintaining a legacy; we are equipping ourselves for the challenges of the next two decades.

I am very grateful for your engagement and look forward to working closely with all of you throughout 2026.

Kind regards,

Claudia Vella Casagrande

MISA Secretary General