The Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers & Agents (FONASBA) provides a united voice for the world’s ship brokers and agents. Founded in 1969, the organisation promotes fair and equitable practices and ensures that the needs of our members are understood at international, regional, and individual national level across the maritime industry.

FONASBA maintains a close watch on all developments of interest and concern to the ship broking and ship agency professions and takes appropriate action to ensure that those interests are protected.

Our Federation has consultative status at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD), and the World Customs Organisation (WCO).  We also work closely with ship owning bodies, the International Chamber of Shipping, BIMCO, Intercargo, and Intertanko.

FONASBA’s relationship with the European Commission is effected through one of its Standing Committees, the European Community Association of Ship Brokers & Agents (ECASBA). ECASBA provides input into European seaport, port services, short sea shipping, shipping safety and EDI policies as well as customs and administrative procedures. ECASBA is a member of the European Commission’s Trade Contact Group on customs matters and the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum.

FONASBA has five other Standing Committees. The Ship Broker and  Ship Agency committees are responsible for supporting the membership in those two disciplines, whilst the Education and Quality Committee oversees the Federation’s global education programmes and quality initiatives, fostering the skills, competence, and professional standing of ship brokers and agents worldwide. The WG – FQS Review Committee is responsible for maintaining and enhancing the FONASBA Quality Standard, ensuring it continues to reflect best practice and meet the evolving needs of the industry. The YABA Review Committee manages the process of assessing entries and selecting the recipient of the Young Ship Agent or Ship Broker Award, recognising and encouraging emerging talent.

Our membership is made up of 73 countries, represented by 52 national associations of ship brokers and agents, with a further 21 countries represented by associate or candidate members. Individual companies are eligible to join as associate members if there is no national association in existence.

All members of national associations which make up FONASBA are encouraged to obtain the FONASBA Quality Standard, proving their financial standing and commitment to quality.

Since January 2022, FONASBA has been based at the offices of the International Chamber of Shipping.

A new introductory video presentation detailing FONASBA’s structure, governance, activities, and initiatives was launched in March 2020 and can be seen below.

A more detailed PowerPoint presentation about the Federation is available for download here:

“FONASBA, the First Fifty”

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, FONASBA produced a book recounting the past history and current status of the association and looking forward to the next half century. Entitled “FONASBA, the First 50”, an electronic copy can be downloaded via Dropbox here. Please note that this is an 86 mB file, so downloading may take some time.