Shippers urged to check that agents are ‘regulated’

It is vital that shippers of air cargo take note of whether their cargo agents carry the title of ‘regulated agent’ after their names, if they hope for assurance that their cargoes will be handled and processed to a high security standard. According to Pierre Engelbrecht, general affairs manager at Kintetsu Worldwide Express (KWE), a cargo agent must comply with the terms of the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) Part 108 security legislation. Using a regulated agent, he added, also means that air carriers will no longer need to carry out any further searching or screening of consignments except to conduct a random search procedure. Engelbrecht suggested there should be a security partnership between regulated agents and the airlines. “Approval enables the work of conducting security controls applied to cargo to be shared by both parties,” he told FTW. “Overall, it should facilitate the passage of cargo through airports, which our business depends on. “Our clients will know that their cargo will not be delayed unnecessarily by the airline.” And the aspirant regulated agents have also gone through a pretty strict compliance procedure before getting the stamp of approval. Said Engelbrecht: “The agent will be subjected to the provisions of the Part 108 regulations, which require certain things to be done by law, and a formal programme of security tests and inspections. “The aim of this is to ensure that appropriate security standards are set and maintained.” The present task for KWE SA is to offer assistance to air export customers, to enable them to become a ‘known consignor’ and to be able to reap the benefits of complying with Part 108. While Engelbrecht acknowledges that there are costs involved in achieving this compliance, he also insisted that approval as an agent offered distinct benefits. “A regulated agent’s cargo will be categorised as ‘known cargo’,” he said, “and will enjoy preference over ‘unknown cargo’ with the airlines – reflecting a speedier service for clients. “It also leads to a potential reduction in liability insurance premiums and diminished risk of liability exposure.”