2015 will see container shipping lines addressing a number of important changes, including:
— Container ship operators will continue to pursue improved operating efficiencies through the use of larger, more fuel-efficient vessels and the use of alliances and vessel-sharing agreements to broaden service offerings. In addition, 2015 will see lines complete their network planning for the new larger Panama Canal locks that are scheduled to open in early 2016.
— Effective Jan. 1, ships operating in the emission control areas of North America, the North Sea and the Baltic will be required to use fuel with a sulfur content of 0.1 percent or less, which will add significant cost to the operation of those services.
— 2015 could also be the year when the mandatory installation of new ballast water treatment technology becomes effective. This will occur once the U.S. Coast Guard issues type-approval for ballast water treatment technologies. Similarly, the IMO Ballast Water Convention may come into force internationally if a few more countries ratify it, and this could expand the required application of treatment technology. These events will require a multibillion capital expenditure from the industry.
— The IMO has adopted the new Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirement that the weight of a packed export container be verified as a condition for vessel loading. The SOLAS container weight verification requirement will enter into force on July 1, 2016, so in 2015 all entities in the supply chain, as well as governments, will be planning their implementation processes for the new regulation.
— In 2015, ocean carriers will see changes in the way they exchange manifest information with governments. In the U.S., the Automated Commercial Environment export manifest system will be fully implemented, which will end the filing of paper export manifests and will facilitate the use of ACE for all import and export manifest submissions. In Europe, the European Commission will decide how to amend its advance cargo data filing regime, which will impact ocean carriers as well as shippers and forwarders.
Anne Marie Kappel, Vice President, World Shipping Council