Digital Container Shipping Association established

A.P. Moller – Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and Ocean Network Express establish Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) in The Netherlands. Industry veterans form leadership team, with Thomas Bagge appointed as CEO.

After gaining regulatory approval from the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) last month, four container shipping companies officially established the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) on April 12, 2019 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and the association is now starting operations.

“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. 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”, says André Simha, CIO of MSC and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DCSA.

Digital standards are priority
The association immediately started working on driving standardization, digitalization and interoperability. To create value quickly and to overcome some of the biggest pain-points in the industry, one of the first projects is focusing on standards to overcome the lack of a common foundation for technical interfaces and data. Additionally, to develop another cornerstone for the foundation of the future of shipping, the association is creating an industry blueprint for processes. The work undertaken will be for the benefit of the entire industry, as all standards will be openly published, making them available free of charge to interested external parties.

Thomas Bagge is appointed CEO
Thomas Bagge is appointed CEO and statutory director of the DCSA. Joining from Maersk Thomas Bagge has held several leadership roles in Denmark and abroad, most recently in Technology.

“We are pleased to have with Thomas Bagge the first one of a strong leadership team in place, who is supported by all founding members and represents container shipping at its best”, says André Simha.

Headquarters in Amsterdam
The association´s headquarters will be located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

“DCSA is working for the benefit of the entire container shipping industry; hence, it was important for us that the headquarters is located on neutral grounds, so no specific stakeholders or companies are favored”, says Simha.

The proximity to shipping infrastructure, attractiveness for talent as well as ease of reach was a decisive point for selecting Amsterdam as the location for the headquarters.

New members joining
DCSA is in discussions with multiple other container shipping lines around the globe who are interested in joining DCSA, and preparations for membership of two companies are already ongoing.
Source: Hapag-Lloyd