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'Before UN weigh-in rules apply they shoudl have legislative okay'

THE US agricultural export lobby is protesting amendments to the UN's Safety of Life at Sea Convention that insists on the verification of the gross mass of containers from July 1, reports Lloyd's List.

The Agricultural Transportation Coalition (AgTC) has restated its opposition at a meeting held by the Federal Maritime Commission in Washington.

Before a rule becomes enforceble, they said, it should go though a legislative process rather than being passed down from a quasi-diplomatic body such as the United Nation's International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

"If the current method of sending weights to the carriers is not recognised and new requirements are enforced, then this must go through the legislative process," said the AgTC brief.

"If approved, this rule should be implemented in the US only after implementation by the US's top 15 trading partner countries to limit US competitive disadvantage."

For the moment, the AgTC called for a delay in enforcement of the SOLAS amendments until all parties can agree on industry best practices.

"Our current method of reporting weights to the carriers has been accepted by the industry and compliant with SOLAS for the past 22 years," AgTC said in its presentation.

Despite the fact that the verified gross mass (VGM) rule comes into force on July 1, AgTC is making a case for change, and claims that US shippers will be at a disadvantage when the rules come into force.

AgTC takes the position that shippers should only be responsible for notifying the gross weight of their cargo, and claims the introduction of VGM complicates existing regulation and will require redesign of the supply chain.

"US agricultural shippers are compliant with SOLAS and what we are doing is working," AgTC said. "There is no need for change."

AgTC's main complaint is that under the new regulation, shippers will be required to supply the tare weight along with the weight of any packed goods and dunnage.

It claims tare weights printed on containers are often inaccurate and shippers cannot be held responsible for equipment they neither own nor lease, but which is provided by carriers and third parties.

In its submission to the US Coast Guard, AgTC called for the US to continue the current method of providing gross and net weights to carriers.

"Exporters shall be responsible for certifying accurate weight of their cargo, [but] the carrier will submit the weight of the container it owns or leases from third parties," AgTC said.

It also called for recognition of the industry practice of a weight variance to account for changes due to moisture and humidity content in agriculture and forest products as the container travels through the supply chain.

"The carriers should be responsible for container tare weights [which] must be added to create a new VGM field," AgTC said. "The carriers will be responsible for adding an industry accepted tare weight assigned per size and type of equipment."