After gaining regulatory approval from the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), four container shipping companies officially established the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and the association is now starting operations.
The association immediately started working. Thomas Bagge is appointed CEO and statutory director of the DCSA. Joining from Maersk, Thomas Bagge has held several leadership roles in Denmark and abroad.
DCSA focuses on driving standardisation, digitalisation and interoperability. To create value quickly and to overcome some of the biggest pain-points in the industry, one of the first projects is focusing on standards to overcome the lack of a common foundation for technical interfaces and data.
Additionally, the association is creating an industry blueprint for processes. The results shall benefit the entire industry, as all standards will be openly published, making them available free of charge to interested external parties.
“DCSA is working for the benefit of the entire container shipping industry; hence, it was important for us that the headquarters is located on neutral grounds, so no specific stakeholders or companies are favored”, says André Simha, CIO of MSC and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DCSA. The proximity to shipping infrastructure, attractiveness for talent as well as ease of reach was a decisive point for selecting Amsterdam as the location for the headquarters.
DCSA is in discussions with multiple other container shipping lines around the globe who are interested in joining DCSA, and preparations for membership of two companies are already ongoing.
