Container Owners Association Elects New Leaders
Posted by Eric Haun
January 20, 2017
The Board of Directors of the Container Owners Association (COA) has elected Brian Darnowski, Vice-President – Global Operations, Triton International, to the position of COA Chairman; and Uffe Ernst-Frederiksen, Head of Cargo Management, Maersk Line, as the Organization’s Deputy Chairman. Both positions are for a three-year term.
Darnowski has been a Board Member of the COA since 2008, while Ernst-Frederiksen joined the Board in 2014.
“The container shipping industry continues to face challenging times for the foreseeable future,” said Darnowski, “but I am looking forward to working with the COA Board and our Members to provide tangible membership benefits, with the focus on improving efficiency, developing common standards and promoting industry best practice. I would like to thank Paul Merritt, our outgoing Chairman, for his leadership of the Association during a period of great change in the industry. The COA has continued to expand during his Chairmanship. I would also like to thank the COA Board for its support and trust in me to lead the COA forward, to expand and service the membership to meet their industry requirements.”
Ernst-Frederiksen stated, “The COA membership has continued to grow in recent years and now represents over 85 percent of the world’s container fleet. During the course of the coming year, we will be launching a number of initiatives, to provide improved benefits for our members. These will include new COA-recommended industry guidelines and standards, together with an innovative approach to our Conference and Work Groups Meetings, to ensure maximum value for our members.”
