It was announced on 18 April from Singapore by Ocean Network Express (ONE) that A P Moller-Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd,  MSC  and  Ocean  Network  Express  had established the  Digital  Container Shipping Association (DCSA) in The Netherlands.

On 8 April in Singapore, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) signed a joint memorandum of understanding (see illustration).

A mandatory requirement for national governments to introduce electronic information exchange between ships and ports came into effect from 8 April 2019.

The aim is to make cross-border trade simpler and the logistics chain more efficient, for the more than 10 billion tons of goods which are traded by sea annually across the globe.

In the first quarter of 2019 North Sea Port handled 17.8 million tons of maritime cargo transhipment, almost the same volume as the previous year. According to the port it remains on the same course.

The first quarter of 2019 was the third best quarter ever. With just under 200,000 tons less transhipment (-0.9%), the companies in North Sea Port have consolidated the growth which has been taking place over the past two years.

Speaking in Istanbul, Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) warned on 3 April that avoiding overcapacity and unsustainably low freight rates is still a major challenge ten years after the massive downturn of 2008.

The Secretary-General of the International MaritimeOrganization has the honour to invite nominations for candidates for the 2019 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.

Following the Council's decision, at its 120th session, the Award Guidelines have been amended in order to widen the spectrum of the nomination criteria to include exceptional acts of seamanship, as well as bravery.

(Based on the news release kindly provided by Seafarers UK)

Retired businessman Mark Ashley-Miller, 56, sets out from Dartmouth today (29 March) to circumnavigate the UK and visit every Harbour Master on an epic two-year voyage.

Making lifting and winching operations safer

The Sub-Committee agreed in principle to draft mandatory regulations to make lifting appliances such as onboard cargo cranes safer. The draft SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13 covers requirements for the application, design and construction, operation, inspection, testing and maintenance of onboard lifting appliances and anchor handling winches.

A major five-year project to help protect marine biodiversity was commenced at a global workshop held at IMO HQ from 18 to 20 March.

The IMO-executed GloFouling Partnerships project1 will address bioinvasions by organisms which can build up on ships’ hulls and other marine structures.

Safety warning about drivers remaining in vehicle cabs

while ferries are at sea

Urgent safety lessons issued after shift and toppling of freight vehicles on board a ro-ro passenger ferry in heavy weather