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USCG praised for statement on SOLAS container weights

FEDERAL Maritime Commission (FMC), chairman Mario Cordero has commended the US Coast Guard for issuing a bulletin regarding container weights that he hopes allows parties to agree how they will operate after new Safety of Life at Sea Treaty (SOLAS) amendments come into force in July.

Speaking at a recent seminar in Oakland, hosted by Women in Logistics (WIL) and the Warehouse Education and Research Council (WERC) entitled, "Are you ready for SOLAS?" Said Mr Cordero: "I commend the coast guard for issuing its marine safety information bulletin declaring 'the United States has determined that the regulatory regime in the United States for providing verified weights of containers to ship masters is equivalent to the requirements provided" for by SOLAS amendments.

"I hope this action permits shippers, carriers, and marine terminal operators to have the knowledge necessary to continue to move cargo efficiently, reliably, and without interruption come 1 July."

Though the FMC does not have jurisdiction over SOLAS, it has been active on the issue of how to verify container weights under the terms of the new IMO amendments, according to the American Journal of Transportation.

"How to weigh containers and transmit that information to carriers and terminal operators in accordance with new SOLAS requirements is a matter that I know is of concern to our constituents. Since the beginning of the year, we have tried to be of help on this issue through the forum we hosted at commission headquarters in February, and via ongoing engagement of carriers, shippers, and terminal operators," he added.