Samsa spells out policy on 'tolerance'

With the July 1 deadline for
the implementation of the
Safety of Life at Sea verified
gross mass (VGM) regulation
just three weeks away, only
ten shippers have so far been
approved to use Method 2 –
the weighing of the contents
and dunnage and adding
it to the tare weight of the
container.
SA Maritime
Safety
Authority
(Samsa)
occupational
health and
safety executive
Kirsty
Goodwin called
on port users
at a Transnet
Solas workshop
in Durban on
Friday to get
the ball rolling.
She said
it took a few
hours to
approve a properly documented
application and a bit longer
in cases where further
information was required.
She added that companies
often asked her about
enforcement tolerances being
implemented by countries such
as Belgium, the Netherlands
and the United Kingdom.
“A 2% enforcement
tolerance will be implemented
strictly for guidance purposes
only. It will be used and
considered on a case by
cases basis. The enforcement
threshold should not be
confused with the issue of
accuracy and
the underlying
issue that the
verified gross
mass of the
container
arrived at by
using either
Method 1
or Method
2 should be
accurate.
Solas does
not provide
for a margin
of error,”
Goodwin said.
And the
last-minute scramble was
because the industry had been
slow to react, she said.
“We extended a marine
notice in August last year to
say if you’re interested in being
accredited by Samsa you can
apply. We only appointed the
first company in February so
it took some time for industry
to become interested in it,”
she said.
There were several pending
applications for third party
accreditation in the pipeline,
she added.
General manager KZN
operations at Transnet Port
Terminals, Zeph Ndlovu, said
existing regulations meant
companies should already be
providing accurate masses and
the only change was to now
provide the VGM according to
the new regulations.
“So far we have trusted
everything you are telling us
but in the oceans something
else is happening – the cargo
that you declared to be 15
tonnes ended up being 40
something tonnes which really
brings about very serious
risks in international waters.
We do not want SA to be
identified as a rogue business
in terms of maritime. It is our
responsibility to make sure
that we are compliant with
the international community,”
he said.
INSERT & CAPTION
A 2% enforcement
tolerance will be
implemented strictly
for guidance purposes
only and will be
considered on a case
by case basis.
– Kirsty Goodwin