AgTC ‘puzzled’ by OCEMA VGM submission recommendations

The Agriculture Transportation Coalition, an agricultural export group and vocal critic of the container weight regulation implementation process, said the verified gross mass submission guidelines issued by ocean carriers will impede export supply chains.    The Agriculture Transportation Coalition on Monday said it was “puzzled” by new guidelines released by a working group of carriers surrounding compliance with pending International Maritime Organization container weight verification rules.
   The guidelines, issued yesterday by 18 members of the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association, sought to clarify how and when carriers want to receive data related to the verification of container weights. The new verified gross mass (VGM) regulation comes into effect July 1, and OCEMA said if VGM data is not submitted before a stipulated cutoff time, the container will be denied loading.
   OCEMA’s recommendations covered the verification of export containers arriving at U.S. ports, and the AgTC has been vocal in its disapproval of the VGM rule and its enforcement. AgTC and its members have argued in statements and public forums that export shipments are already weighed, and that exporters shouldn’t be held responsible for verifying the weight of equipment they don’t own or maintain, i.e. containers.
   “We are puzzled by the inflexibility of (the) carrier/OCEMA/(World Shipping Council) interpretation of the SOLAS amendment, which appears more focused on (the) strictest legal reading than on the intent of the SOLAS amendment and the economic health of the ocean carriers,” AgTC said in a statement. “In contrast, the AgTC always seeks to increase the competitiveness and reduce costs for our members, the U.S. exporters, who are hit hard by the high cost of the dollar.
   “Similarly we were hoping that OCEMA would consider mechanisms that would meet VGM and SOLAS objectives while reducing costs and complexity for carriers (and shippers), rather than increase them.”