Tag / International Chamber of Shipping

by Mike Poverello

Global union body seeks box weigh-ins before stacking rules change

Container weight misdeclarations will compromise safety if new rules are accepted to allow 10 per cent more cargo aboard ships in the 4,000- to 16,000-TEU range, says the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

The Lloyd’s Register liberalisation proposals to increase the stacking of boxes on board is backed by the forwarding lobby FIATA (Federation Internationale des Associations de Transitaires et Assimiles), but ITF port representative Albert Le Monnier says the measure is “absurd” without the verification of weights of laden containers before loading. “Look at the problem of misdeclaration we’re experiencing,” said Mr Le Monnier, former vice-president of Canada’s west coast section of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

“As a rule, self regulation has a very poor record.” The World Shipping Council (WSC), the Baltic and Maritime Council (BIMCO) and International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) as well as the US, Denmark and the Netherlands are seeking verification of weight of loaded containers as a pre-loading condition for ships.

The practice needs to be shared or to be assigned to the shipper, consignor or consolidator through a system of roadside weigh bridges en route or have a weigh bridges at the terminal, said Mr Le Monnier, reported the London’s Loadstar.

The cost to the terminal operator would be passed on to carriers, then on to the shipper, and ultimately end up in a negligible consumer end-price, said Mr Le Monnier. It is essential, he said, that any weighing verification of loaded containers isn’t rushed through without careful thought by the IMO “correspondence group” due to report back by June 2013, ahead of the deadline for deliberation in September on the issue.

Stacking weights differently aboard could increase cargo 10 per cent for 18,000-TEU vessels allowing for operational flexibility, said the Lloyds Register marine director Tom Boardley. “These results indicate clearly that we will be able to allow much higher cargo weights and enable more operational flexibility – and to do this in safety,” he said. “The potential in cargo increase is considerable.” Source: http://www.seanews.com.tr

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by Mike Poverello

Ports back campaign to weigh all export containers

The International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) has joined the World Shipping Council (WSC) and International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) in urging the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish an international legal requirement that all loaded containers be weighed at the marine port facility before they are stowed aboard a vessel for export. In what has been a much publicized issue since 2008 in the maritime industry, much the same view is taken by customs administrations. Like many other changes in the supply chain, it is a lot easier said than done. Modern ports are designed and developed taking into account requirements for weight bridges, radiation portal monitors, networks to monitor vehicle and container movements in and around port precincts, and inland transportation routes. While the expense and budget for these are usually borne by the relevant port authority, would it not indeed be good if those responsible for the packing/stuffing of containers took it upon themselves to ensure the correct weight, quantity and content are properly declared?

Refer to the joint WSC/ICS paper on “Solving the Problem of Overweight Containers” as well as the ICS’s “Safe Transport of Containers by Sea”. Both are self explanatory and short enough so as not to be considered laborious. In the South African context the question of who packed the box is often unanswered given that a variety of entities could be involved in this activity. In some instances it could be a container depot operator or a freight forwarding and consolidation agent; depending on how ‘safety and compliant conscious’ the shipper wants to be. While it will still take some time before the entire supply chain becomes properly regulated and monitored, now’s the time for ‘operators’ to take stock of what might in future be a new standard. New standards mean more capital outlay with pass-on costs for which the shipper ultimately carries the can.

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