Initiative of Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and ONE in order to promote the digitalisation of the containerized marine transport



Five of the six first world-wide companies of navigation of the field of the containerized marine transport, with the exclusion of the Chinese COSCO who is the third shipowning society of the segment for ability to the fleet, have announced the constitution of a neutral association non-profit and with the scope to promote the digitalisation, the standardization and the interoperability in the section.

A new organization, that which will be instituted by A.P. Møller-Mærsk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Ocean Network Express (ONE), than - given the market share stopped from the five companies that are pairs to 58% about of the ability to the world-wide fleet of portacontainer - difficultly could not be seen that as a new attempt of concentration, this time in the field of the new computer science technologies for the shipping, from which they are opposed to that topics as that of the digitalisation of the logistics, the marine transport and the entire one supply chain are promoted by lobby with so an important weight on the market.

They do not see it so, obviously, the promoters of the initiative. "It is in the interest of the customers and all the stakeholder - it has evidenced the chief information officer of the group MSC, André Simha, spokesman of the new association - if the containerized companies of navigation operate with common computer science standards. We are trying - it has explained - to reduce the bureaucracy and to improve the transparency. The moment is that right one, because the emergent technologies are creating new opportunities for the customers. Working independently but together we will not be able to achieve progresses in the field of the technology and the services for our customers".

Anticipating the possible critics of detractors of the initiative, Simha it has emphasized the neutrality of the project, whose scope is to bring benefits to the field and all the interested parts and has specified that the association will receive "to open arms" other companies of navigation that they will want to join to the project that, second the forecasts, will be started at the beginning of the next year. Simha has clarified also that the scope is not that to develop or to manage some digital platform, but rather that than to assure the interoperability through the standardization, and has specified moreover that the association will not discuss some commercial or operating issue.