Q&A between WSC and ESC with respect to Regolamento EU of exemption for category for the shipping containerized



The relationship "Container shipping in Europe: date for the evaluation of the EU Consortia Block Exemption Regulation", that it is centralized on the evolution of the happened containerized marine transport in the last decade and in particular of the traffics from and for the Europe, document that is published in recent days by the International Transport Forum (ITF), has provoked the reactions of opposite tenor of the World Shipping Council (WSC), organization that represents the main companies of navigation that they operate in the field of the containerized marine transport, and of the European Shippers' Council (ESC), association that is spokesman of the shippers and the European loaders.

The relationship, however, is elaborated on the base of the relationship "The impact of alliances in container shipping", that it is introduced last November by the ITF and that critical the excessive concentration in existence in the field of the marine transport of the container, having manifested perplexity on the eventual maintenance of specific exemptions of category for the benefit of the navigation companies that operate in this segment of the shipping(on 2 November 2018). This last document, among other things, was published while the recognition of the opinions was on on April 25, 2020 on this Regolamento of exemption for category demanded from the EU commission to the parts interested in sight of its fixed expiration in order(on 27 September 2018).

The World Shipping Council, specifying not to consider that the relationship "Container shipping in Europe" is introduced to the EU commission, however has decided, in order to avoid the risk that the document influences on the appraisal of the Commission, to place in evidence those which the shipowning organization considers is weakness of the relationship. According to the WSC, the relationship it would lack reliability and it would not be approved of by the ITF, but - for the shipowning organization - it would simply represent the subjective convictions of its drafter: Olaf Merk, that he is the expert of the ITF for the harbour field and of the marine transport.

Hardest the critic of the WSC, that he has emphasized "the impossibility to comprise - not to mention verifying - the data introduced" in the relationship. The detail, the World Shipping Council refers to the first section of the relation in which the market shares are indicated based on data of the same WSC and Sea Intelligence, with the WSC that contests to the clarity lack about the combination of two different sources of data, exercise - it has found the organization - "already in itself intrinsically problematic" and that, "if try for example, must be always accompanied from transparent explanations". WSC has some deducted that "all the conclusions drawn in the first section of the relation are groundless".

Moreover, for the WSC, the analysis of the data would manifest deficiencies, for example when it makes reference to the market shares, using intervals of so wide data, as 7%-86% and 6%-81%, "to become - second the shipowning organization - deprives of meaning".

Therefore the World Shipping Council has been stopped on the chapter of the relationship in which it is analyzed "customer satisfaction", in which makes reference to two studies lead in 2017 and 2018 from the European Shippers' Council with the society of Drewry advising. To such care the WSC has denounced that in the investigations of customers satisfaction never the more important questions would not be placed, that is - according to the WSC - if "their satisfaction would have been greater if the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (TO DRINK) were not renewed or if not there were the consortia". Moreover the WSC has found that, besides "this fundamental error", "the champion of customers of the investigation it was smallest regarding the total number of the loaders of all the world".

Denouncing at last that which, by the drafter of the relationship, would be a deficiency of understanding of the indicators of performance of the services of containerized marine transport
the World Shipping Council has concluded finding that, "since the relation is full of substantial deficiencies and that, in any case, it is not introduced formally to the Commission", "to the aims of the appraisal would not have to be held account of the relationship in its entirety".

Call in cause for the disputes which moved from the World Shipping Council to the analysis on customer satisfaction in the relationship "the Container shipping in Europe", the European Shippers' Council has emphasized that the survey carried out between the customers of the marine transport of line, survey - has specified the ESC - that it will be realized newly in 2019, "constitutes an instrument useful in order to monitor the perception of the customers on the quality of the containerized marine transport".

"It is important to evidence - it has specified the ESC - than the studies are realized within services supplied in the course of the time and not based on the expirations of Regolamento of exemption for category neither according to eventual hypothetical scenes. Therefore - it has replied the association of the European loaders - the ESC will not accept that they come in some way put in doubt the professionality and the actions of ESC and Drewry".

"Al beyond the inadvisability to characterize the studies and the investigations of the ESC and the Drewry as "failed attempts" - it has observed the European Shippers' Council - the ESC considers that this approach is exceeded, far from a perspective oriented to the customer who would have to prevail when reference to opinion surveys is made that motivate the perception of the satisfaction of the customers. The ESC - it has concluded the European Shippers' Council - is disposed to fly over on the attempt of the WSC to ignore the contribution of the ESC and, rather, it encourages the World Shipping Council to consider these results as indicatives of the current vision of the market by the owners of the goods. A more positive approach would signal the availability to contribute to the dialogue and the understanding, that absolutely they are wished by the operators of the marine transport".