was formally founded after the foundation document was signed at the Hotel Codan, Copenhagen by the representatives of the four member associations – Belgium, Fed Rep of Germany, Finland and The Netherlands.
By a curious irony Denmark, the host country, in which all the early general assemblies were to be held, was not a signatory. Work was in progress to form a Danish Association but it would be some time – in fact 1958 – before the preliminary work on such a foundation was completed and Denmark could become a member of ISSA.
Another absentee which had attended the original meeting was Sweden. This must have been something of a disappointment to those early pioneers, especially as the main reason for the Swedish reluctance was apparently 'fear of competition of a fundamental nature'. In the words of the first annual report published a year later:
‘According to the Articles of Association (which by now had been drawn up) there is no possibility for the ISSA [sic] wielding any influence in respect of the question of international competition and such an attitude would be contrary to the aims of the Association.’
It was to be another five years before the Swedish Association relented and became a member. ISSA’s aims as set out in the statute were:
- to promote the economic interests of the ship suppliers
- to promote contacts with and discussions between the organisations of ship suppliers concerning questions of common interest
- to establish contact on an international level with organisations of shipowners about the relationship between shipowners and ship suppliers
- to represent ship suppliers at an international level
Membership was restricted in those early days to associations of ship suppliers and it is important to remember that ISSA was envisaged as an association of associations only. Only later were ship suppliers in those countries where no national association existed, or where an association was not an ISSA member, admitted to ‘associate’ membership.
The General Assembly was the supreme authority of the Association. It had the power to appoint the President and other executive officers (including paid secretaries) and had the approval of the annual reports, the annual accounts, the budget, proposals of the Board, alterations in the statute and the dissolution of the Association.
The Board was to comprise one member appointed by each national delegation. The President and two Executive Vice Presidents would be appointed by the General Assembly from among the members of the Board. These three would constitute the Executive Committee, responsible for preparing the sessions of the Board and the General Assembly.
Seven years later, ISSA received The Netherlands Royal Warrant and was registered under No.21747 in The Hague with ISSA’s seat of administration in Hamburg. It was registered under No.VR8006 at the Court of Registry, Hamburg on October 4th, 1973.
At the General Assembly held in Copenhagen in September 1957, in addition to the four founder member countries and representatives from Denmark as guests, the list of attendances included The names of two Polish delegates: E. Matuszak of Gdynia and Mr Grabowski of Copenhagen. Poland was the first country to join ISSA after the founding members. At this early stage in its existence, ISSA began to forge links with socialist countries in Europe.
In 1969 VEB Schiffsversorgung Rostock, the ship supply organisation of the German Democratic Republic joined ISSA. Bulgaria joined in 1972 and Cuba in 1973. In 1979 it was with particular gratification that the association accepted the application of the USSR. In that same year Algeria also joined. In 1965 the National Association of Marine Services (NAMS) joined.
The French formed their own national association in 1961 but felt that it was too early for such a young organisation to participate in the international association. France eventually joined in 1968. Britain officially became a member in 1970. The British Association of Ship Suppliers could claim with justification to be the oldest, having been established in 1915. In fact, the Liverpool Ships’ Store Dealers Association had been in existence since 1906.
In 1959, ISSA established a new category of membership: Associate Membership. It was felt that including individual members would encourage the national associations to join. This dual approach put pressure on associations to join and encouraged the formation of new associations, which in turn became full members of ISSA. In this way ISSA initiated the establishment of associations in Italy, South Africa, Norway, and more recently Brazil, Canada, Spain and New Zealand.
(Excerpts from The History of ISSA written by Leslie Rocker)
ISSA Conventions
- 1960 Paris, France
- 1963 Stockholm, Sweden
- 1966 London, UK
- 1969 Amsterdam, Holland
- 1972 Rouen, France
- 1973 Amsterdam, Holland
- 1974 Washington, USA
- 1975 London, UK
- 1976 Hamburg, Germany
- 1977 Lausanne, Switzerland
- 1978 Athens, Greece
- 1979 Brussels, Belgium
- 1980 Copenhagen, Denmark
- 1981 New Orleans, USA
- 1982 Monte Carlo, Monaco
- 1983 Warsaw, Poland
- 1984 Rotterdam, Holland
- 1985 Estoril, Portugal
- 1986 Yokohama, Japan
- 1987 Athens, Greece
- 1988 Montreal, Canada
- 1989 Rome, Italy
- 1990 Singapore
- 1991 Oslo, Norway
- 1992 Orlando, USA
- 1993 Antwerp, Belgium
- 1994 Malta
- 1995 Hamburg, Germany
- 1996 Harrogate, UK
- 1997 Durban, South Africa
- 1998 Vancouver, Canada
- 1999 Barcelona, Spain
- 2000 Brisbane, Australia
- 2001 Bergen, Norway
- 2002 Dubai, UAE
- 2003 Portoroz, Slovenia
- 2004 Athens, Greece
- 2005 Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2006 Singapore
- 2007 Portomaso (Malta)
- 2008 Baltimore (USA)
- 2009 Istanbul (Turkey)
- 2010 Dubai (UAE)
- 2011 DFDS Ship (Denmark)
- 2012 Cadiz (Spain)
- 2013 London (UK)
- 2014 Panama City (Panama)
- 2015 Singapore
- 2016 Dubai (UAE)
- 2017 Athens (Greece)
- 2018 Istanbul (Turkey)
- 2019 Busan (South Korea)
- 2023 Dubai (UAE)
- 2024 Seville (Spain)
- 2025 Singapore
What ISSA Earned and Spent in 1978
% Share of Total Income 1978
- Member Fees: 39.34%
- Register Fees: 33.72%
- Convention Surplus: 12.68%
- Donations: 8.87%
- Misc Fees: 3.61%
- Various Income: 2.19%
% Share of Total Expenditure 1978
- Salaries: 24.55%
- Surplus: 15.45%
- Postage: 10.56%
- Printing of Register: 8.87%
- Public Relations: 7.87%
- Office & Travel: 7.50%
- Travel Expenses: 6.00%
- Office Expenses: 6.41%
- Telephone/Telex: 5.63%
- Room Expenses: 3.67%
- Various: 2.60%
ISSA History Fact Box
Founded in 1956 by Victor Auwerwerkens (Belgium), Eric Liljefors (Finland), Egbert Lucks (Germany) and Sam Frenk (The Netherlands).
The four founding fathers took it in turn to be president until 1958 when Egbert Lucks was elected President. He served until 1967.
ISSA Presidents
- Peter Burneyat — 1968–1975
- Jim Taylor — 1976–1981
- Henry Lange — 1982–1986
- Salvatore Cuoffo — 1987–1990
- Geoffrey Marchant — 1991–1999
- Wim Van Noortwijk — 2000–2009
- Jens Olsen — 2010-2013
- Abdul Hameed Hajah —2014-2017
- Saeed Al Malik — 2018-2023
- Rafael Fernandez — 2023 -
ISSA Secretaries
- 1955: Dr Jan Buter and G.H. Teetzmann
- 1962: Dr Norbert Traub
- 1976: Peter Burnyeat elected Secretary General in London and Dr Norbert Traub, Secretary in Hamburg
- 1983: Leslie Rocker elected Secretary General in London
- 1994: Capt Julian J. Mitchell elected Secretary in London
- 1998: Spencer Eade elected Secretary in London
- 2019: Sean Moloney elected Secretary in London
News From the Archives
Spring 1976
ISSA sets up EEC committee
In a move of great significance to ship suppliers throughout the world, members of ISSA in the Common Market countries have set up a committee to study the new regulations being drawn up by the EEC authorities of Brussels concerning the control of the 'Supply of Ships, Aeroplanes and International Trains with Provisions'. The object is to assist the commissioners in drafting the regulations, a work which, from their very wide and detailed knowledge of the trade, the members are particularly qualified to do.
It is obviously of the greatest importance that ship suppliers should have a say in drafting regulations that concern their livelihood, particularly in view of the fact that theirs is a trade little known to those not immediately concerned with it. What is of even greater significance, however, is that this action is taking place within the framework of ISSA and, indeed, perhaps would not have been possible but for the spirit of international cooperation and association that ISSA has generated through the years.
The working group has the title of Organisation Communautaire Européenne de Ravitailleurs de Navires (aptly reduced to the initials OCEAN) and its membership consists of O. Boldreel (chairman), S. Frenk, H. Lange, R.A. Murrant, A.H. Pace, R. van Uffel, and E. Zanotti. The secretary is Dr J. Butler of 29 Prins Mauritsplein, 's-Gravenhage, The Netherlands.
Interesting anecdotes
- The price of a single room at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, US for ISSA members attending the 1974 Convention was a massive $28 or $60 to $90 for a suite. Delegate fees were an equally sobering $65 for a member. Lady members were charged a lesser amount of $35.
• ISSA members attending the 1981 convention in New Orleans were offered the chance to book their trips to the event as part of individually priced tours, inclusive of flight and hotel accommodation. Those wishing to book a return trip to New Orleans from London and sharing a twin room were asked to part with $464 while those wishing to travel from London to New Orleans via Honolulu (conventions were tiring in those days) could snap it up for the single room price of only $1,000.
• Income of ISSA in 1979 amounted to DM252,812 with register fees, associations and associate fees contributing DM75,200 to this total. The largest item of expenditure after salaries was postage at DM22,589.
• A circular picked up by Roger van Uffel some years ago highlighted the 10 easiest ways to kill off your association. Sure fire methods were don’t attend meetings and if you do, get there late! But a personal favourite was 'Constantly find fault with the officers and other members' and 'Delay paying your dues as long as possible…'. Some pointers we should still consider.
The principal speakers at the ISSA 1976 Convention in Hamburg were Wally Canty of the UK and Captain D.P. Boll of Hamburg.
