Newsletter 6 – September 2005

 

  1. Membership
  2. Working Group developments and progress
  3. Intermodal Show, Bilbao
  4. Shanghai Members Meeting and AGM
  5. Members Offer
  6. Fleet Size
  7. Future Meetings

 

1.    Membership

 

COA membership continues to grow, with the figure now standing at 55 members. Companies who wish to join can find a Membership Application Form on the COA website (www.containerownersassociation.org) or contact the Secretariat (secretary@containerownersassociation.org)

 

2.    Working Groups

 

Companies wishing to participate in WGs, and contribute to their work, should contact Bill Brassington), the COA Director responsible for WGs. (Email:  Bill.Brassington@geseaco.com)

 

After the Amsterdam meeting in June, the COA’s Board reviewed the WG structure, amending certain WGs and introducing new ones. The current status is as follows:

 

Container Standards

 

The COA Standard Shipping Line Container Specification was finalised and published in June.

 

A COA Standard Leasing Company Specification is now being prepared by this WG; and after Board approval, this will be introduced at the Shanghai Members Meeting in December.

 

The aim of these Standard Specifications is to enable container manufacturers to increase efficiency, and therefore reduce costs, which can be passed on to their customers.

 

 

 

New Materials

 

Flooring - Although the floor report has been published, it is planned to update it and to present a further report in Shanghai.

 

Waterborne paints - There was considerable interest in the presentation by Hempel in Amsterdam, and Hempel is planning further trials over the next few months. A follow-up presentation could be presented in Shanghai.

 

Container Logistics

 

Standard Lease Contract - This WG has been created from the previous Container Interchange WG. Its next project is the development of a COA Standard Lease Contract, based on the BIMCO contract document. Many shipping lines are now increasingly requesting a standard leasing document from lessors, and this will be of great assistance to lessors and lessees alike.

 

Quality Management

 

Code of Acceptance - A standard Code of Acceptance for dry containers is now being reviewed by members of the Quality Management WG. A standard process for audit of depots is now being tested and reviewed. A standard process for inspection at reefer container factories is also currently being reviewed by WG members.

 

Repair Standards

 

Methods and Processes - Following the Amsterdam meeting, this WG was established to monitor acceptable and industry normal repair methods and processes; to develop and maintain industry standard repair standards for all container types; and to liaise with the Container Standards Working Group to ensure repair standards reflect the needs of all recommended container specifications.

 

Safety and security

 

Monitoring requirements - Also following Amsterdam, this WG was established to monitor international security requirements to ensure that container specifications reflect these needs; to work with the Repair Standards WG to ensure that safety is not compromised; and to monitor and work with other safety and security related organisations to ensure that Members are kept abreast of these issues

 

3.    Intermodal Show, Bilbao – 8-10 November 2005

 

The COA Board is considering organising an exhibition stand at the Bilbao Intermodal show (www.intermodal-events.com). The stand would be used as a meeting-place for members and to promote COA activities and membership. However, the stand will only be arranged if Members require it, and show their support for it. The costs will be covered by sponsorship – further information about the stand and Sponsorship Opportunities will be sent out on Tuesday 20th September.

4.    COA Members Meeting & AGM, Shanghai – 8/9 December 2005

 

Confirming the previous bulletin, the COA Members Meeting in Shanghai is now taking place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Shanghai on 8/9 December 2005. Further information on the hotel on: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hd/shgch?amenitylink=true

 

Programme

 

The preliminary programme is outlined below. Following suggestions from delegates who attended the Amsterdam Members Meeting, the Working Group Sessions will be divided into parallel break-out sessions. The working sessions will actually take the form of WG meetings.

 

In addition to the WG meetings, there will be three Keynote Presentations from industry experts, covering areas of common interest to delegates. At present, the three topics are scheduled to be:

 

-        China: Economic and trade development

-        Containership design and evolution

-        Container security issues

 

 

Thursday 8 December 2005

Friday 9 December 2005

 

Morning

 

10:00 Registration & Coffee

 

10:30 Welcome from Chairman

 

10:45 Keynote Speaker (1)

 

11:30 WG update and introduction

 

 

09:00 – 10:00 COA AGM

 

10:00 Keynote Speaker (2)

 

10:30 Refreshments

 

11:00 – 12:00 Working Group Panel

 

-        Container Logistics

-        Safety (ICHCA Safety Panel)

 

Lunch

12:00 – 13:30

12:00 – 13:30

 

Afternoon

 

13:30 – 15:30 Working Group Meetings

 

Sessions A & B to be held in parallel:

 

-        Session A: Container Standards

-        Session B: Quality Management

 

15:30 Refreshments

 

16:00 – 18:00 Working Group Meetings

 

Sessions C & D to be held in parallel

 

-        Session C: New Materials

-        Session D: Repair Standards

 

 

13:30 – 14:30 WG Review

 

-        Summary of WG findings

-        Implementation plan

 

14:30 Keynote Speaker (3)

 

15:00 Conference Summary

 

16:00 Conference Concludes

 

 

 

Evening

 

19:00 Reception and Dinner

(Sponsors: Capital Lease)

 

 

17:00 – 19:00 Farewell Reception

 

Presentations

 

Members wishing to make presentations in the WG sessions should contact the Secretary (secretary@containerownersassociation.org). All presentations have to be approved by the COA Board before the Meeting.

 

Sponsorship

 

Member Companies are invited to maximise their profile at the Shanghai Meeting by benefiting from one of a range of Sponsorship Opportunities. Capital Lease is kindly sponsoring dinner on the evening of 8 December. For further information about other sponsorship options, please contact the COA Secretary.

 

Registration and Hotel Information

 

Participation at the Members Meeting is for COA Members only.

Registration information and forms will be sent to Members shortly. The delegate fee will be €175 (US$215). Special room rates at the Crowne Plaza are being negotiated.

 

5.    Members Offers

 

The COA continues to look for ways that members can benefit from better collective agreements and pricing. The COA takes no responsibility for the performance of the companies proposing Members Offers, or the performance of their products/services; nor do COA Members Offers constitute an endorsement of products or services.

 

COA Associate Member Real Asset Management, specialists in logistics IT solutions, is offering COA members a 10% discount on all its products and services (excluding third party products and services such as hardware or databases). This offer is made available to both new and existing RAM customers.

 

6.    Fleet Size

 

COA Members represent a major share of the world container market. In order to quantify the share more precisely, a survey of COA Members’ fleet sizes is to be carried out. A questionnaire will be sent to Full Members in the next few weeks.

 

7.    Future Meetings

 

The provisional schedule for Members Meeting in 2006:

 

-        May 2006: Antwerp

-        November 2006: Dubai (provisional)

 

8.    Next issue/Contributions and Suggestions

 

Please send any news, comments and suggestions for the October newsletter to:

Patrick Hicks, COA Secretariat (secretary@containerownersassociation.org)