TSA looks to merge with WTSA to eventually replace it

MEMBER shipping lines of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) have filed an amendment with the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to expand TSA's scope to include the entire Transpacific round trip.

This would include the westbound trade that is covered by a separate discussion group, the WTSA (Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement), in a bid to streamline agreements from both discussion groups and reduce costs.

It is expected that once the amendment is introduced, the ocean liners would move to suspend the activities of the WTSA that was established in 1990, reports Alphaliner. It said TSA filed the amendment for a 24-month trial period, subject to review at the end of that time.

The report said: "The low revenue environment seen in recent years no longer justifies maintaining separate carrier agreements, each with its own meetings, dedicated support staff, compliance requirements and administrative overhead."

"Nearly all other major trade lanes with carrier agreements and/or conferences are currently represented by a single group covering entire round trip trade in their respective scope."

Following pressure amid anti-competition concerns, the scope of the TSA and WTSA over the past two decades has eroded considerably, so that they now only provide non-binding guidelines regarding freight rates, freight surcharges and other related fees.