AAEI joined counterpart organizations for the Global Shippers Alliance (GSA) annual meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, where the group published a “manifesto” on minimal service levels in maritime container transport. The group says the manifesto includes an outline for a Bill of Cargo Rights. The rights include:
- Contracts terms should be fair and balanced between carrier and shipper. They should be respected by both parties.
- Reliability of the sailing schedules is the essence of the containers maritime transport. Sharing data on forecasts of carrier’s capacity and shipper’s demand in a transparent way should be implemented.
- Any kind of deviation in the service calls should be accurately and swiftly reported to the shipper.
- Consequences to carrier of no shows by shipper and consequences to shipper of roll-overs by carrier, beyond agreed tolerance, should be considered and proportionately compensated.
- Imposition of surcharges by carrier should be limited to unforeseeable temporary external events beyond carriers’ control. Duplication of surcharges billing by carriers, i.e. charging to shippers costs either already included in rates or also invoiced to third parties, should be prohibited.
- Detention and demurrage should be appropriately evidenced by carrier and, in particular, should not be applied when sailing out of schedules exceeds a reasonable delay time.
- Quality of empty containers delivered by carrier should be compliant with standards and meet the requirements of shippers.
- Trustable carbon footprint information and digital documentation according to DCSA standards should be provided as far as achievable by carrier.
GSA says it will will engage with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the European Commission and regulatory authorities in Asia to enhance competition and ensure fair trade.
The GSA represents the logistics interests of manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers, collectively referred to as shippers and includes the Asian Shippers’ Alliance (ASA), the European Shippers’ Council (ESC), and AAEI.