A new industry consortium has been established bringing together major classification societies and software developers to create a common digital standard for transferring data used in container securing arrangements and lashing calculations.
The Lashing Exchange Format (LXF) Consortium aims to provide a standardised digital format for exchanging information between stowage plans and lashing software, to improve upon the current typical situation where container securing designers, lashing software providers and classification societies all work from their own datasets to approve securing arrangements.
The group says that the lack of a unified exchange format has become more problematic as container stacks have grown and the data underpinning their securing arrangements has become increasingly complex. LXF is being developed as an open cross-industry standard intended for wider use across the market rather than being tied to any single classification society.
“The launch of the LXF consortium reflects growing pressure across the containership sector for smoother and faster approval processes, with shipyards, software suppliers and class all grappling with larger ships, tighter schedules and more demanding operational requirements,” said Nick Gross, Global Containerships Segment Director at Lloyd’s Register (LR).
“Standardising data is seen as a critical step in reducing friction and ensuring container securing systems keep pace with the scale of modern fleets.”
Collectively, the group of classification societies and software developers already signed on to the initiative represent more than half the market for container vessels, lashing systems, and stowage arrangement development, potentially giving the new standard a strong early foothold as it moves toward broader industry adoption.
