European logistics groups want ‘level playing field’ when enforcing SOLAS

Absence of balanced SOLAS enforcement will lead to competition distortion and significant interruption to supply chains, European logistics organizations warn.    In a joint statement, European organizations representing shippers, freight forwarders, terminal operators and port authorities are calling on national authorities to coordinate their actions related to the requirement for shippers to provide the verified gross mass of containers before they are loaded on ships.
   The requirement, in an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, takes effect July 1.
    The European Shippers Council, Federation of European Private Port Operators, European Sea Ports Organization, and European Association for Forwarding, Transport, Logistics and Customs Services said uniformity is needed to preserve a level playing field.
   The groups called for national authorities to take urgent, coordinated action, warning “the absence of such action will lead to competition distortion and significant interruption to the functioning of the logistics chain.
   “To ensure that the implementation of the new legal requirements does not create competition distortion through a patchwork of varying national measures, member states should pursue a coordinated European approach, taking into consideration the national guidelines of other member states when deciding on national rules,” they added.
   “Supply chain actors and national authorities should work towards commonly accepted guidelines in order to minimize distortion of competition and ensure smooth functioning of the SOLAS requirements. Cooperation in drafting of guidelines must focus on two main elements: tolerances applying to weighing equipment and the certification of those shippers approved to issue VGM certificates using Method 2 based upon common standards and programs (such as AEO, ISO 9001, ISO 28000) or other existing obligations or recommendations to provide the container weight,” the groups said.
   Their statement added that countries around Europe must adopt similar standards on certification of weighing equipment “which are not overly restrictive and do not have an adverse impact on the functioning of the logistics chain.”
   Also the groups said it was “important that national authorities communicate the accepted tolerance level for weighing equipment used to issue, and where necessary verify a declared VGM (for example; 5 percent or an acceptable variation from the declared VGM) in advance” of the July 1 implementation.