Containership within the Port of Hamburg [Image HHLA]
The World Shipping Council (WSC), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) have made a submission to the European Commission in search of an extension of the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER), which expires in April 2024 ang governs vessel sharing preparations.
The CBER units the situations beneath which delivery traces with a mixed market share of under 30% could enter into cooperation agreements to offer joint cargo transportation providers.
According to the shipowners’ associations, “vessel sharing is a purely operational measure that enables carriers to use ships more efficiently whilst continuing to compete on price and other commercial terms. Vessel sharing expands the range of destinations and services available to customers and reduces empty space onboard ships, lowering emissions.”
The CBER, they are saying, facilitates vessel sharing by offering a sector-specific authorized framework.
“From an operational and environmental perspective, vessel sharing is like public transport and car-pooling schemes: seeking to maximise efficiency and reduce emissions through the shared use of transport assets and infrastructure, significantly reducing emissions per unit of cargo transported,” says Yuichi Sonoda, Secretary General of the Asian Shipowners Association.
In the wake of COVID-19 induced provide chain bottlenecks and disruptions, and with containership operators racking up report income, shippers seemingly take a far much less rosy view of vessel sharing.
“The frustration that shippers have understandably experienced from service delays and increased cost has been channeled towards carriers, their vessel sharing arrangements, and the regulatory tools which facilitate such arrangements, including the CBER. But data shows and regulators concur that the problems were caused by factors outside carriers’ control and not by vessel sharing,” says John Butler, President & CEO of World Shipping Council.
“Vessel sharing is a tool that has been recognized by regulators around the world as providing a foundation for the reliable movement of international trade. As we come out of the pandemic and markets normalize, we need common and predictable regulations across the globe in order to help transportation and trade networks to stabilize,” says Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping.
While EU Block Exemption Regulations for consortia have been repeatedly in place since 1995, the Commission first adopted the CBER in its present type in 2009. It was adopted for a interval of 5 years and, since then, it has been prolonged twice following Commission evaluations (first in 2014 and once more in 2020). The CBER is because of expire on April 25, 2024 except the current analysis leads to an extra extension.
The CBER:
- Applies just for ocean carriers with a mixed market share of under 30%
- Allows for vessel sharing agreements solely, to enhance service and effectivity
- Strictly prohibits change of data on charges. Each member of a VSA determines its personal industrial phrases, together with costs.
- Carriers inside a VSA compete with one another, and with different carriers outdoors of that VSA, when promoting their providers to prospects. Additionally, carriers provide and add their very own providers outdoors of VSAs.
Download the WSC, ICS and ASA submission to the European Commission on the renewal of the CBER here.
