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American forwarders urge FMC to ensure shippers don't pay VGM costs
THE National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) has urged the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to see that compliance costs of container weights be verified not be passed on to US exporters or forwarders acting as shippers.
In a letter to the FMC, the association lawyer Edward Greenberg said the agreement between the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) and six major east and Gulf Coast ports to establish a process for transmitting VGM data to the carriers be accepted by the regulator.
OCEMA represents 19 carriers in North America. The rule, called verified gross mass (VGM), is an amendment to the UN's International Maritime Organisation's existing Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention.
The application of the amendment, due to go into force July 1, has been a source of controversy as shippers and logistics companies grapple with the costs and potential disruptions associated with compliance.
Under the rule, verified container weights, or VGMs, must be submitted to carriers before loading, the letter notes.
But under Mr Greenberg's approach, the marine terminal would be responsible, thus alleviating shippers' concerns and avoiding the need for exporters and forwarders to be involved.
Mr Greenberg also urged the FMC to make clear that any authority under the OCEMA agreement with the Gulf and east coast ports does not grant carriers, ports or marine terminal operators the right to set charges for weighing containers.
In a letter to the FMC, the association lawyer Edward Greenberg said the agreement between the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) and six major east and Gulf Coast ports to establish a process for transmitting VGM data to the carriers be accepted by the regulator.
OCEMA represents 19 carriers in North America. The rule, called verified gross mass (VGM), is an amendment to the UN's International Maritime Organisation's existing Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention.
The application of the amendment, due to go into force July 1, has been a source of controversy as shippers and logistics companies grapple with the costs and potential disruptions associated with compliance.
Under the rule, verified container weights, or VGMs, must be submitted to carriers before loading, the letter notes.
But under Mr Greenberg's approach, the marine terminal would be responsible, thus alleviating shippers' concerns and avoiding the need for exporters and forwarders to be involved.
Mr Greenberg also urged the FMC to make clear that any authority under the OCEMA agreement with the Gulf and east coast ports does not grant carriers, ports or marine terminal operators the right to set charges for weighing containers.
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