FEPORT: National guidance on SOLAS ‘still absent’

The European port organization said Wednesday member states are still unclear on how to go about implementing and enforcing the new International Maritime Organization container weight verification guidelines due to come into effect July 1.    The European port organization FEPORT on Wednesday said “guidance from national authorities” regarding the implementation of container weight verification guidelines due to come into effect July 1 “is still absent in many cases.”
   The guidelines, known as the verified gross mass amendment to the International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, will require shippers, or consolidation non-vessel-operating common carriers, to submit a verified weight document to carriers prior to loading. A container for which the VGM documentation is absent will be denied loading.
   The container shipping industry has decried the IMO for not providing more clarification on implementation and enforcement of the VGM amendment. The organization has essentially left those issues up to member nations.
   “A lack of national guidelines will ultimately provoke confusion in the implementation and will have an adverse impact on operations and lead to possible competitive distortion,” FEPORT said in a statement also meant to clarify the role of terminal operators in the VGM process.
   FEPORT said terminal operators in Europe will be in the position of denying loading of containers if the VGM has not been received by the carrier.
   “The VGM, and any other relevant information, shall always be communicated shipper-carrier-terminal operator, unless otherwise agreed,” FEPORT said. “The shipper remains responsible for communicating via the standard chain of communication. The VGM should be communicated by the shipper, and, subsequently, the carrier, at the earliest possible opportunity. If no VGM has been communicated, the terminal has the right to refuse the container unless a contractual agreement has been concluded.
   “If the terminal operator in question has not received a VGM from the carrier, he will not be in a position to load a container,” it added. “The communication of the VGM by the carrier to the terminal operator is an essential pre-requisite for the loading of a container.”
   FEPORT also noted that “the carrier and terminal operator are not responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the VGM provided by the shipper.”
   The group lastly said it is up to member states to ensure the guidelines don’t restrict supply chains.
   “It is important that EU Member States adopt common standards on certification which are not overly restrictive and do not have an adverse impact on the functioning of the logistics chain,” said FEPORT.