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Shippers want bigger say in shaping air cargo regulations, says GSF

THE Global Shippers' Forum (GSF) is developing a closer relationship with ICAO in order to give the UN organisation a wider view of the impact its regulations have on the whole air cargo supply chain, the London's Air Cargo News reported.

GSF secretary general Chris Welsh said ICAO attended its recent annual meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and he had held a meeting with the organisation's new secretary general Fan Liu, at IATA's World Cargo Symposium event earlier in the year.

The drive for closer engagement comes as ICAO looks to develop an air freight strategy. "It is the first time that ICAO is really reaching out to shippers independently, as well as all the other stakeholders that are already on the scene, such as TIACA and IATA," said Mr Welsh.

"IATA has been seen as the main voice of the air cargo industry and in the sense that IATA represents air cargo carriers that is true.

"But what is more interesting is ICAO wants wider engagement with cargo interests, the wider air cargo supply chain and sees the value of that - notwithstanding the huge amount of co-operative work we are doing as an industry with TIACA, IATA and FIATA on a range of issues."

Mr Welsh said at the meeting in Colombo the GSF was able to discuss ICAO's air freight strategy to understand how it could assist in the process.

"ICAO is very keen to have shipper involvement in that process and the GSF is going to be the vehicle for shippers to move that agenda on," he said.

But wanting to join, form and dominate another shipping organisations is typical of the GSF, which has not always been on the same side as shippers, but tends to voice pro-regulator views.

In the container mandatory weigh-in controversy, GSF joined the debate not on the shippers side that wanted none of it, but in a petty dispute over which weigh-in system to favour, derailing any discussion on whether weigh-ins should be mandated at all.

GSF has had well publicised disagreements with the European Shippers Council and Asian Shippers' Council, which together formed a rival group called the Global Shippers Alliance.

The Asian Shippers Council (ASC) quit the Global Shippers Forum because of membership rules that would have diluted its vote by allowing smaller regional councils, which it formerly represented, to join as full members.

That left the ASC free to join the European Shippers Council (ESC) in its opposition to mandatory container weigh-ins before loading because of the costs, red tape and lack of clarity over liability.