Maritime Single Window – Simplified reporting moves a major step closer

ECSA and WSC have backed the agreement reached by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission in their ‘trilogue discussions’ on the European Maritime Single Window environment proposal last week.

ECSA’s Secretary-General, Martin Dorsman, commented: ‘We very much welcome the hard work from the European Commission, European Parliament and Member States over the past months. This resulted in an instrument that will bring real and positive change for shipping companies and crews.’ He added: ‘We welcome in particular that the co-legislators have agreed to the idea of a harmonised data set. This is the fundamental building block that will bring true harmonisation and simplification for the shipping industry and other partners in the chain.’

WSC CEO and President John Butler said of the deal: ‘The agreement not only harmonises the data that must be reported but also the way that it is to be transmitted. The EU machine to machine interface module as required by the Regulation will simplify the process of reporting data as long as it is implemented identically in each national single window without deviation. The adoption of the legal text is the first important step. The next is to deliver the benefits through loyal implementation.’

ECSA and WSC hope the Council and European Parliament will now proceed swiftly with the final procedural steps for the proposal to enter into force. The shipping community stands ready to help with the further implementation of the proposal and contribute to the development of the actual data set and reporting mechanisms.
Source: European Community Shipowners’ Associations