World Shipping Council (WSC) Explained

The World Shipping Council (WSC) provides a voice for the liner shipping industry. It was initially established as a lobbying group for the biggest liner shipping businesses and has become an advisor to industry and government on topics as varied as security and environmental issues.

Key facts about the WSC

The WSC has 26 members.
WSC members operate approximately 90 percent of the global liner ship capacity.
These services transport about 60 percent of the value of global seaborne trade, and more than US$ 4 trillion worth of goods annually.
The WSC is the global representative of the liner shipping industry.
The WSC was created in 2000 by the CEOs of the most significant major liner shipping companies.
In 2009, the WSC was granted Consultative Status at the International Maritime Organisation.
The WSC is based in Washington, DC.
WSC members come from all over the world, from China to America.

World Shipping Council profile:

The WSC is an industry body that was developed in 2000 by those leading the way in the liner shipping sector. It has played an instrumental role in key moments for the liner shipping industry, such as working with global governments and organisations to help develop laws, regulations and programs designed to better secure international maritime commerce in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The main focus of the WSC is to work on trade, security and customs issues that affect the industry itself, as well as its impact on the wider world. In recent years it has also started to focus on environmental issues too.

The WSC is viewed as a respected advisor to both industry and governments – for example it has been granted Consultative Status to the International Maritime Organisation. It also takes an active role in policy debates where those policies will have an effect on the liner shipping industry.

Member Companies by Size:

Criteria for membership:

There are no membership criteria listed on the website. The WSC describes its members as “They have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in ships, port terminals, trucking companies; warehouses and technology in order to ensure a wide variety of options continue to exist for safe, dependable and economical international cargo transportation.”

From this, it’s clear that the membership is not open to just any business. Representative members include Hyundai Merchant Marine Company and United Arab Shipping Company.

There is a contact email address provided that could be used for those who want to enquire about membership: info@worldshipping.org.

Opinions about the WSC:

The WSC is quoted in news reports as a source of information on regulatory and legislatory changes and is clearly a respected organisation that provides a channel of communication between lawmakers and industry.

Its work has also involved helping to deal with confusion about incoming legal changes and to smooth the path of legislation from written law into reality.

Although the list of members appears on the WSC site, a quick check of a couple of the business’ sites reveals that they don’t prominently display their membership of the WSC.

This is most likely because WSC is not an accreditation appropriate for a commercial website but an industry body where these businesses have a consultative and advisory role.

Website: http://www.worldshipping.org/

For more on shipping see: 2018 International Container Shipping Rates & Costs and Freight Forwarder & NVOCC International Cost & Companies Guide