The COA Conference took place on Wednesday 14/15 June 2023 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Antwerp.
The conference was sucsesfully organised with over 100 participants. Copies of the presentations are available to members to download.
Wednesday 14 June
The meeting commenced with a Networking Welcome Reception for all participants on the evening before the Conference.
Thursday 15 June
MORNING SESSIONS
Container Shipping and Manufacturing – Industry Developments and Trends
The Conference opened with Keynote Presentation “Global container shipping and manufacturing developments” – given by John Fossey, Head of Container Equipment & Leasing Research at Drewry. This covered trends in the container trade, shipping and manufacturing market 2023/2024
Lars Kjaer, Senior Vice President, World Shipping Council, updated Members on the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)’s efforts to reduce pest movement in the sea container pathway
Container Design and Technology
Reducing pest movement was also the topic covered in the next presentation – “Container design innovations for pest minimisation” – presented by Jinping Hu, Technical Manager, CIMC Containers. He also discussed the topic of “The New method of Module Design for Dry Van Containers”
After that, the focus of the Conference turned to Container Floors and Container Coatings.
“Innovation in container floors” was the subject of the first presentation after the mid-morning refreshment break. Frank Nachbar, Director – Global Container Service, Hapag-Lloyd, introduced the new design of steel container floor developed by the company. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion about container flooring
Finally the topic of the morning session was: “Container coatings: current trends and future developments”, with an update on the situation for waterborne paint on dry freight and reefers; future trends in high solids/low viscosity paint and powder coatings, together with trends and initiatives The presentation was given by Louis Wong, Marketing Director, Mega P&C Advanced Materials and followed by a panel discussion about container coatings.
AFTERNOON SESSIONS
COA Work Groups and Initiatives: Reefer Containers, M&R Coding, Flexitanks
In the afternoon, the Conference divided into two parallel sessions:
• Parallel Session A: Container Industry Initiatives
• Parallel Session B: Flexitanks
Reefer Containers: Refrigerants and Reefer Telematics
The afternoon focused on Reefer Containers, including an update on changes to regulations relating to refrigerant gases, a review of possible future options and a review of PFAS regulations changes – and how this might affect the industry
Information was also be given about the COA Refrigerants Work Group, covering the issues and future regulation relating to refrigerants, as well as the scope of the COA Work Group.
The session included an update on the work being undertaken by the COA Reefer Telematics Work Group, with developments on the COA Reefer UDM.
Harmonisation of Cedex Repair Code Interpretation
COA’s Cedex Harmonisation Work Group has also been progressing, and there was a update to Members about the status of project and next steps.
This Session included a General discussion, including various relevant topics
- Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII): How new IMO regulations will impact the container shipping industry
- Future Container Standards – Panel Discussion
- Container Disposal: CargoWorthy and SOCs
Focus on Flexitanks
Afternoon Parallel Session
During the afternoon, there was a Parallel Session dedicated to Flexitanks in Containers.
Topics of discussion included
– Shipping line case study
– COA Quality Conformance
– Sustainability initiatives
– New Technology
The Meeting concluded with a Post-Conference Reception and Networking Buffet.