Frequently asked questions

Part of DCSA’s mission is to minimise barriers which may exist towards greater transparency and interoperability within the container shipping supply chain. For this reason, DCSA makes its standards and API definitions freely available on its website and welcomes feedback that supports further improvements and future innovations. The intention is that this level of transparency will foster trust, making it easier for organisations to do business with each other and encouraging innovation. 

We are indeed aligning with multiple other standardisation entities. We can certainly learn and leverage our collaboration with them.

The DCSA collaborates with and takes into account all relevant work items that have been published by all well-established standards organisations, including the UN.

DCSA is a non-profit, non-commercial organisation. It was founded in April 2019 by a coalition of ocean carriers as a non-profit organisation and is governed separately by a General Assembly of representatives from each of its members. DCSA has no stake in any commercial entity or business. DCSA has no commercial business model or investments and publishes its standards free for everyone to use. The organisation is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

Currently, DCSA membership is open only to ocean carriers, with nine of the top 10 carriers in the world on board, representing approximately 70% of global container trade. These members develop standards jointly with DCSA, which means they have financial, time and expertise commitments to continually and actively support DCSA initiatives. Due to the level of resource commitment required, DCSA members tend to include large ocean carriers.

DCSA’s members vote on its budget and project priorities, but you do not need to be a member to collaborate with DCSA. Any organisation with a stake in the container shipping industry can make use of the standards for free, provide input into standards development or give feedback to support future improvements. DCSA’s goal is to produce standards that are beneficial to all parties involved in international trade and to achieve the widest possible adoption of those standards. Input from many types of organisation is valued and taken into consideration when defining and updating standards. However, deciding on a standard requires an informed and thoughtful process of selection and deselection. It is important to recognise that while input is sought from many parties, not all parties may be satisfied with the outcome of the work done.

DCSA is not working on an ISO standard at present, nor is it on our current roadmap.

We are inspired by IATA and learn much from them. They have a long history, so it is very ambitious to have that as our aim. We do follow them closely and meet with them when possible.

We are open and interested in connecting with other companies in the shipping industry.

No. DCSA publishes non-binding standards but it is not a technology platform provider. DCSA does not have access to granular, non-public data of its members, whether such data is commercially sensitive or not. DCSA also does not have access to the carriers’ systems that implement DCSA’s standards. Organisations are free to use DCSA’s API test tools to ensure their API-based implementations are compliant with DCSA’s standards, but they are encouraged to use test (“dummy”) data instead of actual company data relating to their business activities. 

When it comes to actual company data, it is the carrier’s responsibility to ensure that data cannot be accessed illegally, for example in the event of a cyber-attack. DCSA has published guidance on how to mitigate cyber risks.

An antitrust framework setting out competition “do’s & don’ts” is part of DCSA’s statutes. An external compliance lawyer engaged by DCSA attends all key meetings in which DCSA members participate. At the start of every meeting, attendees are reminded that they must not discuss any out-of-scope commercial topics. The minutes of key DCSA meetings are submitted to the US Federal Maritime Commission as part of DCSA’s reporting obligations. Trainings for DCSA employees are conducted by external counsel which shows DCSA’s strong commitment to compliance.

The United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) is a subsidiary, intergovernmental body of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) which serves as a focal point within the United Nations Economic and Social Council for trade facilitation recommendations and electronic business standards. It has global membership and its members are experts from intergovernmental organisations, individual countries' authorities and also from the business community.

Everything DCSA publishes is open source, and therefore, public. When it comes to real data, owned by the carriers, it is the carrier’s responsibility to secure that data. DCSA does share our recommendations with members on this topic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear there is a strong need for a more efficient (digital/standardised) logistics chain in all its aspects. DCSA initiatives, including eBL and IoT, fill that need, and we expect to see active adoption of our standards by the industry.