Malaysia to host world shippers’ meet

NST Logistics 25 June 2007

In the first-ever meeting of its kind to take place in Asia, Malaysia will play host to a gathering of shippers from all over the world who are expected to meet to discuss wide ranging issues and challenges facing shippers globally.
  
The meeting, to be hosted by the Malaysian National Shippers Council (MNSC), which is headed by the Deputy Trade and Industry Minister, Ng Yip Yong, will discuss issues relating to maritime regulatory reforms, the contentious terminal handling charges and surcharges imposed by shipping lines as well as security of the transport and logistics chain.
 
The Global Shippers’ Forum, hosted by the Malaysian National Shippers Council, will be held 16-19 September 2007 in Kuala Lumpur and is expected to be officiated by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak.
 
In conjunction with the Global Shippers Forum, MNSC is also organizing the first ever World Shippers’ Conference, that is expected to be attended by 300 delegates from shippers bodies throughput the world.
 
Participants to the meeting will include representatives from national shippers associations from the Asean, the Asian Shippers’ Council, European Shippers Council, the National Industrial Transportation League (US) and the Canadian Industrial Transportation Association.
 
One of the issues which the shippers are expected to address at the Kuala Lumpur meeting will be the changes in maritime regulations which they claim are weighed heavily in favour of liner shipping companies.
 
Shippers have voiced the concern that shipping companies not only collectively set rates and service conditions, but even refuse to entertain any request from shippers to hold any discussion even if the rates are arbitrary and unsubstantiated and services far from satisfactory.
 
The smaller shippers and the less powerful economic regions are particularly hit. They have nowhere to redress their grievances, no matter how genuine the grievances are.
 
Shippers have also taken note that some shipping lines, through mergers and acquisitions, are really emerging very strong, so much so that even large shippers will find it difficult not to abide by the terms dictated by these lines.
 
The issue of the Terminal Handling Charge (THC) which has been a bone of contention between the shippers and the shipping lines ever since its introduction in Asia in 1991 is another issue that will feature prominently in the meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
  
The shippers are also expected to call for substantial changes to the system of liner conferences, stressing on the need for reforms that would create “true economic partnerships” between shippers and carriers that results in market driven environment.
  
In conjunction with the World Shippers’ Forum, MNSC will also be hosting the Federation of Asean Shippers’ Council and the Asian Shippers Council.
  
Malaysia currently serves as the chairman of the FASC with the Deputy MITI Minister as its head.
 
The Global Shippers Forum, a successor organization to the Tripartite Shippers Group, was launched in September last year in an attempt to forge a common front among shippers in the world to address issues and challenges facing the shippers including as a countervailing measure to the trend address the increasing concentration of the shipping industry.
 
GSF recognizes the need to reflect the interests of all freight shippers regardless of geographic origin or trade lanes.
 
It conveys the Forum’s continuing objective to support policies which enhance changing transport needs around the world where efficiencies can be realized through competition and a marketplace environment
 
As with the GSF, the Asian Shippers’ Council (ASC) is also a new organization set up to represent the interests of cargo owners and exporters.
 
ASC, which has its secretariat in Singapore, was formed to serve as a forum for Asian shippers to discuss issues of interest to present and advocate an Asian view to the international community.   

BACK TO NEWS PAGE