More than 90% of the
industry – from shipping
lines to freight forwarders
and shippers – believe the new
Safety of Life at Sea (Solas)
verified gross mass (VGM)
regulation is a positive move
by the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO).
But by the same token, a
whopping 83.8% expect there
will be challenges with the two
weighing methods prescribed
under the new regulation
– Method 1 which sees the
weighing of the full container
at a weighbridge and Method 2
which involves the weighing of
the contents and dunnage and
adding that to the tare weight of
the container.
These were two of the
main findings of a Solas
VGM regulation FTW survey
conducted in June – mere
weeks ahead of the July 1
implementation deadline set by
the IMO.
Most welcomed the decision
for the obvious reasons – safety
at sea and potential loss of
valuable cargo if the regulation
is not implemented. But
some pointed out some other
benefits many have perhaps not
considered.
“If we have to look outside the
box, the VGM regulation could
be used to mitigate insurance
claims, especially on bulk
loaded containers,” said Nirosh
Nanoo, supply chain manager
Tate & Lyle.
Dewald Theron, general
manager at transport operation
Mweza Trans, pointed out
that while the regulation
was introduced primarily for
seafreight, it would also have
a knock-on benefit for the
roadfreight industry. “We as
transporters also suffer from
misdeclaration of containers
for import and export, which
potentially damages our trucks
and roads,” he said.
A key account manager for a
consolidation company pointed
out that the regulation had
“all the hallmarks of better
quality control”. According
to him, it also tightens up
customs declarations and
limits opportunities for illegal
movement of goods.
“We will be able to
mitigate costs and additional
administration resulting from
misdeclared cargo weights
that we have seen in the past,”
a director from the Zambian
branch of one of the top ten
global lines told FTW in a
separate e-mail.
