Port of Charleston withdraws proposed VGM fee

South Carolina Ports Authority officials will not charge $25 to weigh containers to meet the SOLAS verified gross mass requirements because the authority has determined it doesn’t need to send the info to shippers.    The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) has switched gears and will not charge a $25 fee to use port scales and provide exporters with the weight of their containers.
   In a news release, the state agency said it has withdrawn the proposed fee because it is no longer necessary to provide it directly to the shipper.
   Instead, container weight information will be relayed to ocean carriers to assist with load planning, as is current practice.
   “This has been a long-accepted best practice in our port that has allowed the safe loading of vessels, and it should be continued in the overall interest of safety and efficiency,” Port Director Jim Newsome said.
   Two weeks ago, the SCPA announced it would provide an accurate estimated weight to shippers upon request so they could file the data with their ocean carriers, as required under new international maritime safety regulations that go into effect July 1. The port authority made the decision following the U.S. Coast Guard’s declaration that existing U.S. laws and regulations are equivalent to the amended Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention and that it approved of U.S. ports conducting the measurement.
   The Port of Charleston for years has weighed every export container received at its terminals on calibrated scales to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations requiring terminals to receive the gross weight of the container, or use its own scales to obtain the weight, before it is hoisted by any cargo handling equipment.
   The ports of Savannah and Virginia also announced they would accept containers without weight data on file and submit the information to carriers, as they do under current practice. The Georgia Ports Authority’s statement made no mention of providing information to anyone else besides the carrier. Virginia Port Authority officials say they will issue a detailed policy within days about how they will support SOLAS compliance. All three ports are in fierce competition for discretionary cargo.
   Savannah, Virginia and Charleston are all operated by port authorities. The SCPA was the only one that explicitly said it would provide container weights to shippers, if requested, and it was the only one to propose a fee.
   Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale issued a statement this week that its terminals have scales and the ability to weight containers. However, terminals at the South Florida cargo hub are operated by private stevedores and the port authority said any services and potential fees were up to the terminals themselves.