Container body established to steward IT standards

The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) is up and running after finally gaining regulatory approval from the Federal Maritime Commission. Established by MSC, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express, the aim of the neutral, non-profit association, first announced in November last year, will be to create common information technology standards to make the container shipping industry more efficient for both customers and shipping lines. “For the first time in twenty years the container shipping industry has come together

with a common goal to move the industry into the digital era”, said André Simha, chief information officer MSC and chairman of the DCSA’s Supervisory Board. “With the regulatory approval in place, we look forward for the association to take up work and to begin to collaborate with multiple stakeholders from the entire value chain.” Simha added that to create value quickly and to overcome some of the biggest challenges in the industry, one of the first

projects will be focusing on standards to overcome the lack of a common foundation for technical interfaces and data. The association will also create an industry blueprint for processes, which will be another significant part of the future of shipping. The work undertaken will be for the benefit of the entire industry, as all standards will be openly published and available free of charge to interested external parties. Headquartered in

Amsterdam, the DCSA has committed to not favour any of the large shipping companies. At the same time, it provides proximity to shipping infrastructure and ease of access, as well as an attractive location for talented employees.  “DCSA is working for the benefit of the entire container shipping industry, so it was important for us that the headquarters be located on neutral grounds, with no specific stakeholders or companies being favoured,” said Simha. He emphasized that already the association was in discussion with multiple container shipping lines that are interested in becoming members. DCSA is working for the benefit of the entire container shipping industry. – André Simh