The International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO) is a voluntary non-profit association representing the interests of dry cargo vessel owners. Its first General Meeting took place in 1980 in London and it has had NGO consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) since 1993.

INTERCARGO provides the forum where quality dry bulk shipowners, managers and operators are informed about, discuss and share concerns on key topics and regulatory challenges, especially in relation to safety, the environment and operational excellence.

INTERCARGO promotes best practices in shipping and represents dry cargo shipping interests at IMO, other industry fora and the broader business context, basing its strategies on the principle of free and fair competition.

INTERCARGO is primarily governed by its Annual General Meeting, Executive Committee, and its Technical Committee.

The Chairmen Committee of the Association in the latest 2 year term 2016-2018 consists of John Platsidakis (Chairman), Jay K Pillai (Vice-Chairman), Nicky Pappadakis (Vice-Chairman), and Dimitris J. Fafalios (Chairman of the Technical Committee). Dr Kostas G. Gkonis is the Association’s Secretary General since October 2016. 

Membership
INTERCARGO’s membership as of end April 2018: 

• 131 Full Members (dry bulk shipowners, managers and operators) with 2,022 bulkers entered with the Association of a total capacity of 189 mil dwt  i.e. about 19% basis numbers and about 23% basis dwt of the global dry bulk carrier fleet. 
• 73 Associate Members (Associate Members are companies providing goods and / or services to the dry cargo shipping industry).

The Greek companies’ participation among INTERCARGO’s Full membership holds by far the largest share, with 54% in number of Members and 37% in number of registered ships.

INTERCARGO’s membership and registered fleet has enjoyed a very significant expansion since the start of 2017 to the present date in Q2 of 2018: +70% in number of Full Members, while its registered fleet practically doubled.

The pace of regulatory developments have made shipping companies more interested in getting adequately informed on time and more involved in these developments, influencing them in the capacity at least of our Association. INTERCARGO is not only an accredited NGO at IMO, but also a member of the Round Table of International Shipping Associations with BIMCO, INTERTANKO and ICS, and actively participates in other international shipping fora voicing the positions of our Membership.

Main topics & priorities
INTERCARGO’s three reference pillars are safety, efficiency, and the environment, with our aims always being “quality & operational excellence”.

Safety for crews and ships come first: The Bulk Carrier Casualty Report 2017 highlights that cargo failure, including moisture related cargo failure mechanisms / “liquefaction”, is one of the greatest concerns for the safe carriage of dry bulk over the past 10 years and is likely the cause of the loss of 101 seafarers’ lives and 9 vessel losses.

INTERCARGO-entered ships continue to outperform the industry averages in respect of  Detentions and Deficiencies per inspection, in line with INTERCARGO’s policy that vessels entered by Members should be capable of demonstrating such distinctive performance.

INTERCARGO’s publications and activities (such as participation in Industry Working and Correspondence Groups, and of course at IMO) are related to specific items of our working programme, including:

• Cargoes
• Design & Construction, Machinery & Operations
• Ballast Water
• Emissions
• Ports & Terminals
• Life Saving, and Security, to name a few.