News and Events

Jakarta Members Meeting Summary Now Available

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Following a successful Members Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, the summary notes are now available for members on OneHub. At the meeting, BSR representatives presented the 2020 Strategy, which was well received and which sets a strong direction for the network. In-country actions are also progressing well, and there is a desire on the part of members for more Say No campaigns.

New Regulation to be Passed in Argentina

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A new regulation based on MACN’s collective action in Argentina will be passed on 1 November and will come into operation immediately. The regulation will introduce a number of changes, including: introducing inspectors’ rotation in ports and terminals; increasing the timeframe allowed for remedying hold’s deficiencies; and strengthening control mechanisms by creating a new Technical Appeals Tribunal, developing a risk matrix on the basis of which inspections will be supervised, and establishing a trustworthy whistleblowing hotline.

We would like to invite members to an update call where our partner Gov Latam will brief us on the latest developments and next steps that are relevant to MACN members. The call will be held on October 18 at 3 p.m. CET. Contact mbenderson@bsr.org if you are interested in participating.

Sam Megwa Accepts Role of MACN Chair

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The bi-annual MACN full group members meeting offers an opportunity for all MACN members to discuss progress on collective action and to contribute to the strategy of the network. In addition, the meeting features expert plenary speakers from the maritime and related areas. The meeting serves as a forum for the creation of new ideas, for debate on challenges, and for the sharing of knowledge.

If you are interested in joining as an observer, please contact us for more information.

A Conversation With The Vice Chairman Of MACN

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John Sypnowich is chief legal and compliance officer at The CSL Group Inc., a world-leading provider of marine dry bulk cargo handling and delivery services. He serves on the steering committee of MACN and is currently the vice chairman. We sat down with John to discuss anticorruption trends, collective action, and next steps for MACN.

Read more

UKFCO Funds Phase 2 Of Collective Action In Indonesia

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BSR has received funding from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UKFCO) for the second phase of a collective action in Indonesia. Phase 2 will focus on improving transparency of container tracking in Port Tanjung Priok, and promoting a cashless system for Export Permits. MACN is preparing briefing materials for industry and a media event in Jakarta. If you would like to get involved, please contact us.

MACN Featured At OECD Integrity Forum

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May 2016: MACN Featured At OECD Integrity Forum

MACN and BSR were proud partners of the OECD’s Integrity Forum 2016. Entitled “Fighting the Hidden Tariff: The Global Trade without Corruption”, the Integrity Forum gathered over a thousand participants in London to shape the anti-corruption debate. The Integrity Forum highlighted the importance of collective action, and singled out MACN as a successful example of building a knowledgebase and closing the gap between practice and theory.

“Say No” Campaign Gains Ground In Egypt

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The pilot phase of the concerted “Say No” campaign, piloted by a number of MACN companies in the Suez Canal as part of a collective action launched on International Anti-Corruption Day in December 2015, ended recently. The campaign has decreased the frequency of demands for payments and has made it easier for captains to say no. Pilots are also reported to be less aggressive and more forthcoming. As a next step, MACN is preparing a full launch of the project.

The Fight Against Corruption Starts In The Charter-Party

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Only in Danish:

Hvem har ansvaret, når et rederi udsættes for krav om bestikkelse? Ny anti-korruptionsklausul i Bimcos standardkontrakter sikrer, at rederier og lastejere arbejder sammen om at håndtere korruption.

Det kræver en massiv og koordineret indsats, hvis man skal bekæmpe korruption i f.eks. havne og ved maritime anlæg. Den nye anti-korruptionsklausul i standardkontrakterne sikrer, at rederierne orienterer lastejerne, hver gang et skib udsættes for forsøg på afpresning eller korruption. På den måde kan rederi og lastejer arbejde sammen om at løse problemet.

”Danmarks Rederiforening er særdeles tilfreds med den nye klausul fra Bimco. Vi er stærkt engageret i arbejdet med anti-korruption, ikke mindst via det internationale Maritime Anti-Corruption Network, MACN, hvor Rederiforeningen og en række danske rederier er medlemmer. Klausulen kan udgøre et godt værktøj for rederierne til at modstå krav om bestikkelse, uden at det indebærer høje omkostninger,” siger chefkonsulent Jesper Stubkjær, Danmarks Rederiforening.

Say No To Corruption

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BSR’s MACN team published a blog to publicize the impacts and achievements of MACN over the last five years. The blog also highlighted the methodology underlying MACN’s collective action success. “These collective actions have resulted in tangible outcomes and long-term impacts, including the passing of new legislation (in Argentina), a decrease in waiting times, and a decrease in demands.” Read more

Tackling Corruption Through Collective Action: A Q&A With Cecilia Müller Torbrand, Chair Of MACN

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December 9, 2014 was International Anti-Corruption Day, and on December 10, 2014 the UN Global Compact celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Principle 10, which states, “Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.” Over the last decade, both the public and private sectors have made progress on raising awareness about the impact of corruption, including through the establishment of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

While we can celebrate this progress, corruption continues to negatively affect investment, trade, and economic growth, as well as equality and prosperity in communities. Corruption is identified as the top impediment to conducting business in 22 out of 144 economies, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.

Through our work within MACN, we have learned that individual corporate codes of conduct, industry self-regulation, government regulation, and civil society activism are all important measures to fight corruption, but that collective action across sectors and with other stakeholders is crucial to tackling corruption’s deep roots.

The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN)—a global business network working to eliminate corruption in the maritime industry—is one example of collective action at work.

We recently spoke to MACN’s Chair, Cecilia Müller Torbrand, who is also legal counsel for anticorruption and foreign trade controls at Maersk Group, about how far the network has come, where it’s going, and why she believes collective action is critical to mitigating corruption risks.

Tell us about the launch of MACN—where did the idea come from, and how has the network evolved?

At the end of 2010, Maersk explored whether industry peers were interested in collaborating on anticorruption efforts. We gave it a go, acting as the secretariat to build momentum. After a year, the network had grown, and it was time to make it more official, which we did in the beginning of 2012, with BSR named as the secretariat.

We were eight companies at the first meeting, and MACN has grown rapidly over the past two years, with 44 member companies in 2014, comprised of vessel-owning companies and others across the maritime supply chain.

Our members work on implementing MACN’s seven anticorruption principles and engage actively in our various work streams, which are the cornerstones of achieving our mission. One work stream, our Collective Actions Program, aims to identify specific challenges in hotspot regions and develop action-oriented recommendations to tackle bribery and corruption.

Why does MACN have a collective action approach?

MACN members recognize that they need to take a firm stance against corruption and actively fight it, while working with peers and stakeholders to achieve the systemic changes in the external operating environment required to eliminate corruption in the maritime industry.

The essence of the MACN collective action approach is that successful, lasting changes in the operating environment will only take full effect if they are supported by and beneficial to key stakeholders. MACN’s collective actions work is based on stakeholder inclusiveness, local ownership, and transparency.

Can you provide an example of a collective action program that you have undertaken?

In 2012 and 2013, MACN conducted a risk assessment study in the Nigerian port sector with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR) to identify the main drivers of corruption in the sector and specific actions that public and private sector stakeholders could take to fight against it. Some of the main challenges included weak internal ethics infrastructure and enforcement practices in port agencies (such as lack of codes of conduct), underdeveloped systems for investigating complaints around demands for bribes or facilitation payments, and the absence of an effective system to handle grievances and protect whistleblowers.

The study recommended three short-term actions to contribute to the elimination of corruption the Nigerian Port Sector:

  • Develop capacity building programs to strengthen transparency and accountability of port stakeholders
  • Develop and clarify standard operating procedures of port stakeholders
  • Establish a port-level complaints mechanism for potential or actual acts of corruption

BSR and MACN also developed a summary brief of the original report (which was prepared by TUGAR).

What are MACN’s plans for 2015?

MACN aims to explore collective action programs in more countries where corruption is prevalent. We need to multiply the effects of individual action and create collective action to guarantee transparency in business, ensure fair competition, foster a level playing field, and strengthen good business practices.

Watch a video from the BSR Conference 2014 about the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network featuring BSR’s Angie Farrag-Thibault and UNDP’s Magdy Martínez-Solimán.

[1]: mailto: macn@bsr.org