Membership of FONASBA

FONASBA’s Members are currently divided into three categories and each has its own particular characteristics, as defined in the Articles of Association and By Laws. In summary they are as follows:

Full Membership

Full Membership is only available to national associations of ship brokers and/or agents or, if Council approves, other organisations in countries where no national association exists. If the ship broking or ship agency sector in a particular country is represented by more than one association, all the relevant associations may apply to join FONASBA if they so wish. In such cases those associations will jointly share the one vote granted for that country. Full Members have the right to exercise their vote in Council and all other ballots, may propose members for election to the Executive Committee, Advisory Panels, Working Groups or to Honorary Membership and otherwise to participate fully in the activities of the federation. Full Members of FONASBA domiciled in member, or applicant member, states of the European Union and the European Economic Area are also members of ECASBA (see Membership of ECASBA below).

Associate Membership

Associate Membership is available to any ship broking or ship agency company, entity or other body as Council may determine. In practice, however, Associate Membership is limited to individual companies based in countries where no national association currently exists. Associate Members are expected to act as the catalyst for the development of a national association which will subsequently become a Full Member of FONASBA. Associate Members may attend all meetings of FONASBA and participate in any discussions or other activities but they do not have voting or nomination rights. There may be more than one Associate member from the same country.

Club Membership

FONASBA may extend membership to any entity or organisation whose activities may be of interest or benefit to the Federation membership as a whole. Club Membership is in the gift of FONASBA only, in that organisations may only be invited by FONASBA to join in this category, they cannot of themselves make an application. Similarly to Associate Members, Club Members may attend all meetings of FONASBA and participate in any discussions or other activities but they do not have voting or nomination rights.

Membership of ECASBA

As stated above, all Full Members of FONASBA domiciled in member, or applicant member, states of the European Union and the European Economic Area are also members of ECASBA (By Law 10). A FONASBA member automatically becomes a member of ECASBA on election or at the start of the financial year immediately following the commencement of “substantive membership negotiations” between the country concerned and the European Union.

Details of all FONASBA members, and downloadable contact lists, can be found here.

Application for Membership

Any association or company wishing to apply for membership of FONASBA should contact the Secretariat (generalmanager@fonasba.com) for further details. Please note that there is no membership application form, all applications must made in a formal letter, the details of which will be provided by the Secretariat.

On receipt of the formal application, it will be reviewed by the Membership Committee and if endorsed will be subject to a ballot of Full members. Applicants will be kept updated by the Secretariat as the process moves forward.

Membership Fees

Membership fees are payable in accordance with the schedule approved by Council. Fees are set for a period of twelve months commencing 1st July. Members joining part way through the financial year (1st July to 30th June) pay a pro-rata fee based on the number of full months to the end of that financial year and the full annual fee thereafter. Membership fees are payable within the first three months of the financial year, that is by 30th September.

Recognising the additional resources required to ensure FONASBA remains fully engaged in the European maritime sector, ECASBA members are required to contribute additional fees in order to defray the cost of providing those resources. A schedule of FONASBA’s current membership fees can be found here.

FONASBA Presentation

A new presentation detailing FONASBA’s structure, governance, activities and initiatives is available for download here: