FIATA: Lack of carrier coordination on SOLAS ‘alarming’

The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association called on ocean carriers to provide clarity to shippers and forwarders about how to receive container weight verification documentation under the new IMO requirements.    The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (FIATA) said Tuesday container shipping lines need to provide greater clarity on how they wish to receive verified container weights ahead of the International Maritime Organization global regulation that goes into effect July 1.
   The so-called verified gross mass rule, an amendment to the IMO’s existing Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, requires shippers to verify the weight of their containers by weighing the entire laden box, or calculating the weight of all cargo and added the tare weight of the container.
   The regulation has been denounced by shippers and forwarders for its lack of clarity about how it will be enforced and implemented, including how the certified VGM documentation will be transmitted from shipper to carrier.
   “There is an alarming lack of information from the shipping lines on how they will receive the VGM,” said Jens Roemer, chairman of FIATA’s sea transport working group. “FIATA urges shipping lines to communicate with the trade so that preparations for July 1st can be finalized.”
   Roemer said that at a recent FIATA meeting in South Africa, all attendees were “concerned at the lack of information being provided by the shipping lines on how they wish to receive the VGM data.”
   Last week, Robert Cannizzaro, chairman of the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association, told a Federal Maritime Commission hearing OCEMA has a container weight committee focusing on developing standards among its 17 carrier members. Among the committee’s targets are standards for the way carriers will receive the container weight verification document from the shipper of record, the cutoff time for accepting the document, and how the verification information will be shared with terminals to influence stowage plans.
   FIATA is a non-governmental organization that represents an industry covering approximately 40,000 forwarding and logistics companies globally.