Stubkjaer notes growing regulatory burden in liner shipping
There is an “increasing tendency” to regulate the liner shipping industry with news rules and codes concerning security, safety and the environment, said Knud Stubkjaer, Maersk Sealand's chief executive officer.
The senior carrier executive told the Containerization International conference in London that “many stakeholders” are involved in discussing or making regulations. He cited the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the International Maritime Organization, the World Customs Organization and the International Labor Organization, and new include regulations like those restrictions truck waiting times in port.
“Too many stakeholders with good intentions could result in too many laws, codes, programs, regimes and conventions not complementing each other,” Stubkjaer warned. Given this risk, he urged government and industry to work together on these issues.
Security must be “coordinated, internationally aligned, workable, timely and practical,” he told the conference.
Stubkjaer said the shipping industry will accept their security responsibilities, but stressed the question of the associated costs.
“It's a challenge to the industry to predict these costs and an even greater challenge to recover these costs,” he said.
“The (carrier) industry cannot absorb costs associated with security, safety and environment initiatives on its own,” Stubkjaer said,
Stubkjaer would not say whether port security costs should be passed on to shippers or to ocean carriers. However, he praised the recent Maritime Security Discussion Agreement of 41 ocean carriers and terminal operators in the United States, which was established partly to discuss security charges. Maersk Sealand and APM Terminals North America are members of the U.S. port security agreement.
“We haven't seen the same initiative in Europe,” Stubkjaer said.