After gaining regulatory approval from the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), four container shipping companies - AP Moller – Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and Ocean Network Express - officially established the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) on April 12, 2019 in Amsterdam.

The Association will be led by CEO Thomas Bagge who joins from Maersk. Thomas has held several leadership roles in Denmark and abroad, most recently in the field of technology.

André Simha, CIO of MSC and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DCSA said,

“For the first time in twenty years the container shipping industry has come together with a common goal to move the industry into the digital era. We are pleased to have Thomas Bagge, the first of a strong leadership team in place, who is supported by all founding members and represents container shipping at its best.”

The Association immediately started working 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 focussing on standards to overcome the lack of a common foundation for technical interfaces and data.

The work undertaken will be for the benefit of the entire industry, as all standards will be openly published, making them available free of charge to interested external parties.

Photo: Thomas Bagge