All posts by Jonathan

2017 ECASBA SEMINAR BRUSSELS – PRESENTATIONS

Customs Issues Update

Hilde Bruggeman, coordinator of the ECASBA Customs Working Group, provides her latest summary of developments in relation to the Union Customs Code and other related issues

Customs Issues Update

The Reporting Formalities Directive Review 2017 – Where Do We Stand?

FONASBA General Manager Jonathan C. Williams FICS provides an update on progress towards a comprehensive review of the Directive

Reporting Formalities Directive Review 2017

The European Maritime Single Window

Capt. Peter Langebein, ECASBA representative on the e-Manifest Pilot project group, summarises the current state of the project

EMSW – The Agent’s View

Eventually Logistics Will Disrupt

A presentation on the threats posed by increasing logistics movements in Europe and a novel approach to solving them. A presentation by Alex Van Breedam, CEO of TRI-VIZOR

Eventually Logistics Will Disrupt – Or Be Disrupted

The Maritime Single Window – The Port Community System Operator’s View

A presentation by Richard Morton, Secretary General of the International Port Community Systems Association on the PCS’ view of the current state of the European Maritime Single  Window

Digitalisation and Simplification, the effect on the ship agent and the logistics chain

Other presentations will follow shortly

FONASBA/BIMCO WEBINARS ON AAA FORM AND THE QUALITY STANDARD

On 20th February, FONASBA was invited by BIMCO to participate in a webinar on the new Agency Appointment Agreement form and the FONASBA Quality Standard. The webinar was extremely well supported with over 300 participants  registering to view it.

In the first section, FONASBA President John Foord FICS, BIMCO Documentary Committee member Han van Blanken and ITIC Claims Director Andrew Jamieson discussed the new AA form, its development and its anticipated usage. They also responded to a number of questions sent in from the audience.

Following that, FONASBA General Manager Jonathan C. Williams FICS discussed the background to the Quality Standard, the requirements for obtaining it and the current level of implementation worldwide.

A recording of the webinar is now available but for the sake of clarity it has been split to show the two subjects separately. Both can be downloaded from this website.

The AAA recording can be found on our Documentation page here and the Quality Standard section here. Both are also available on the BIMCO YouTube channel.

FONASBA is very grateful to BIMCO for their generosity in hosting the two webinars and for their enthusiastic support for both the development of the AAA document and of the Quality Standard since its launch in 2007.

 

VNC INTERVIEWED ON QUALITY STANDARD SUCCESS

NIEUWSBLAD TRANSPORT JANUARY 2017

The influential Rotterdam-based shipping and logistics publication “Nieuwsblad Transport” this month interviewed Marco Tak of Dutch ship agents association VNC. The article specifically highlighted the enthusiasm with which the ship agency sector in the Netherlands has supported the introduction of the FONASBA Quality Standard. With the Standard only having been accredited in the Netherlands in September 2016, the number of companies currently approved to the Standard now stands at 22, with more expected in the coming weeks and months. The names of those companies are listed on the Quality Standard page of this website, and in the “Nieuwsblad Transport”article. More detailed information can be downloaded here.

Photographs of the ceremony held in early January to mark the award of the certificates to the first Dutch companies can be found on the VNC website and the “Nieuwsblad Transport” interview with Marco Tak (in Dutch) can be found here.

FONASBA and BIMCO Launch New Agency Appointment Agreement

On 9th January 2017, FONASBA and BIMCO issued the new Agency Appointment Agreement form, a new document designed to formalise the appointment of a ship agent for a single port call or short series of calls to a single port or limited range of ports.

A copy of the press release issued jointly by FONASBA and BIMCO can be found here and a copy of the new form and its accompanying Explanatory Notes can be found on the Documentation page of this website here.

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ECASBA JOINS NEW EUROPEAN MARITIME SECTOR ALLIANCE

FONASBA’s European Committee, ECASBA, has joined the newly established “I AM Logistics and Connectivity for Growth Alliance”. This new body emerged from an initiative by FEPORT, the European Federation of Private Port Operators, to bring together an extended coalition of mainly European maritime industry organisations, representing a wide spectrum of sector and disciplines, with the aim, as the attached press release states, of boosting and enhancing European multimodal and logistic connectivity through direct engagement with EU decision makers and agencies. The size of the alliance, comprising twenty of the largest maritime organisations (the names of the founders can be found in the press release – see below), should ensure that it gets its voice heard at the highest levels. That size will also mean that some policy actions will not be supported by all of the members and so there will be the opportunity for associations to opt out of a particular issue.

The alliance was officially launched at the second of FEPORT’s Annual Stakeholder Conferences which took place in Brussels on 6th December and ECASBA was present. A plenary meeting of the alliance members is scheduled for spring 2017, at which time the priorities for the initial series of actions will be determined. It is however anticipated that the Combined Transport Directive (92/106/EEC of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States) and the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Connecting Europe Facility will be two topics under discussion.

ECASBA will actively participate in the work of the alliance.

A copy of the launch press release can be found here

THE NEW HORIZON – ISSUE 43

The latest FONASBA Annual Update was published at the end of June 2016 and is available for download here

The contents include:

  • Container Weighing
  • New Members
  • Education, Young Agent or Broker Award
  • Quality Standards
  • Port Procedures Survey
  • Membership Surveys
  • Standard Document Update
  • Member Association Visits
  • Website Advertising
  • Social media
  • Annual Meetings  – Vitória, London
  • ECASBA Seminars
  • Relations with International Organisations
  • European Update
  • Photo pages

FONASBA INTERVIEWED ON CONTAINER WEIGHING

Following publication of the updated container weighing survey at the end of March, FONASBA was invited by Port Technology International magazine to record a video interview on the impact that the SOLAS Amendments will have on our members and to highlight some of the issues that we see arising from implementation. We were very pleased to be given the opportunity to express our views and the interview was recorded in late April.

The interview is available in two parts from the Port Technology International website at: www.porttechnology.org/news/container_weighing_clearing_the_confusion and this also provides links to other articles on the subject, including our press release of 4th April.

Both parts of the video can also be viewed below.

FONASBA Publishes Young Ship Agent and Ship Broker Award 2015 eBook

FONASBA is pleased to announce the publication of an eBook containing all the entries for the 2015 Young Ship Agent and Ship Broker Award.

The impressive publication includes all seven entries for the inaugural award as well as introductions from the President, Glen Gordon Findlay, the Vice President for Education Capt. Jakov Karmelić and Award Review Committee Chairman Gunnar J. Heinonen. Both award sponsors, ITIC and BIMCO, are also represented. Details of how to enter the 2016 Award are also provided.

Writing in his introduction, Glen Gordon Findlay said “Reading the papers also demonstrates the passion that our younger members have for our industry and their concern that whatever the future influences there are on it, the ship agent and ship broker will continue to play a vital role in the effective and efficient movement of goods by sea. With this level of commitment and enthusiasm being shown by our younger members, we can be confident that our profession is in safe hands for many years to come”.

A copy of the eBook can be downloaded here: YOUNG AGENT AND BROKER AWARD 2015 EBOOK

 

 

Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers’ wins BIMCO Education & Training Award 2015

FONASBA is delighted to congratulate our colleagues at the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers on winning the Education & Training Award at the 2015 BIMCO Annual Awards Ceremony held in Hamburg on 18th November. Acknowledging the Institute’s achievement, ICS Director Julie Lithgow said “(winning the award) was completely surprising and a bit overwhelming. There are lots of organisations offering maritime training or education, and for BIMCO to notice us, and to specifically acknowledge our commitment to “leave no student behind”, was very special. This can only happen because our members actively support our education programme and by doing so allow our students to have access to our courses and examinations worldwide.

CS Director Julie Lithgow receiving the 2015 BIMCO Education & Training Award from Giampiero Soncini, Chief Executive of the Award sponsors Spectec.