Mandatory weighing back in the spotlight

The issue of mandatory pre-shipment weighing of containers has stirred industry protest in the Netherlands where shippers and forwarders are fighting the Dutch government’s support for the concept. According to WorldCargo News, the Dutch shippers’ council (EVO) and forwarders’ association (Fenex). have called on the Dutch Parliament to force the government to withdraw its “over-active” role in support of compulsory container weight verification (CWV) within IMO. They argue that such a rule would increase the cost and administrative burden of trade and slow down the logistics chain, but at the same time it “would not significantly improve maritime safety”. It’s been an issue of global contention for some time and in June last year a broad array of industry stakeholders that included the governments of Denmark, The Netherlands and the United States along with a group of five maritime industry associations led by the World Shipping Council, co-sponsored a formal proposal to the IMO to amend the SOLAS convention to require that the weight of all loaded containers be verified prior to loading onboard a vessel for export. This proposal – along with an alternative proposal submitted by Germany – was considered at the IMO’s Subcommittee on Dangerous Cargo (DSC) in September last year (DSC17). A compromise proposal was developed with widespread support to amend the SOLAS Convention to require, as a condition for vessel stowage, the verified weight of loaded containers. However, three IMO member governments, namely Cyprus, Greece and Panama, opposed the compromise proposal. A task group was set up to develop draft guidelines for the implementation of the compromise proposal for consideration at its next meeting (DSC 18) in September this year. If DSC18 reaches agreement on a proposal with supporting implementation guidelines, the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) will be invited to approve and adopt the proposed SOLAS amendments and supporting guidelines. Depending on the terms of the adoption, the changes could take effect in 2017. CAPTION Weighty decision ... changes to mandatory weighing regulations could take effect in 2017.