IMO agrees box weight deal 2 >>


2


methods for verification.” In an


interview with FBJ, Chris Welsh said that it was widely agreed that better information on containers was needed. Ships are getting bigger and stacks higher, and there have been some serious accidents to ships and road vehicles. Containers are also being used for heavy bulk commodities such as grain or scrap metal to a much greater extent than previously. The compromise proposals


mean that container weighing can be carried out flexibly and with relatively little cost or disruption


to the supply chain, Welsh continued. Allowing shippers to carry


out their own verified weighing of individual container contents would be effective, he insisted, particularly as it could be integrated with the ERP systems such as SAP that many companies use. But equally, it would be possible for shippers to use non- IT based systems, provided their calculations could be verified. Accuracy of weight information


would also be verified by random checks by maritime safety authorities. Shippers would have an incentive to provide accurate


information, because otherwise cargo would be delayed. Allowing shippers to provide


their own weight information would also give time for the shipping industry to install weighbridges at or near the entrance to ports, which many see as the ultimate solution to the problem. The cost of such equipment was rapidly reducing, added Welsh, but it would take time for weighbridges to be installed,


particularly in many


developing countries, nor would it be practical for any but the very biggest shippers to install – and, more importantly, maintain - such


Issue 7 2013 Freight Business Journal


///NEWS P&I Club reissues


equipment at their premises. National maritime authorities


will allowed to interpret the guidelines – for example, whether shippers would be required to individually weigh basically identical pallets or weigh a single pallet and assume that the others all weighed more-or-less the same. National authorities would also have some leeway in deciding the degree of accuracy required. The new guidelines would


apply only to deep-sea shipping, as defined by the IMO – they would not apply to shortsea shipping or ferries.


Europeans strike dissenting note


Not everyone was happy with the IMO’s plans for weighing containers. The European Shippers’ Council argued that the measures “do not add anything to safety of containers at sea in the immediate and in the future.” It said that practical and simple solutions to the misdeclaration problem such as basing loading plans on the latest information provided by the shippers rather than the booking had been disregarded. They would add to shippers’ costs and administrative burden, ESC argued. ESC complained that “there was


no proper analysis of the problem of overweight containers, no real attempt to consider the possible alternatives to weighing and no consideration of the difficulties that 100% verification of gross weight of containers would create in the supply chain.” Mandatory weighing and verification of gross weight of containers is doomed to fail, it said. It added that


the onus of


weighing and verification of gross weight of containers falls on shippers and there was little mention


of shipowners’


responsibilities. “We believe better results can be obtained


if the shipowners were to work with the terminal operators,” ESC concluded. The International Transport


Workers’ Federation also criticised what it described as “a compromise position, which allows governments to


comes under regular IMO scrutiny. It is also looking at container standards, the incidence of containers breaking loose and the packing of containers. The British International


either


choose the gold standard of mandatory weighing or the lesser measure of certifying containers based on an unformulated process of verifying the weight by adding together the different constituent parts of a container load at unspecified times and places along the transport route.” ITF president and dockers’


section chair Paddy Crumlin explained: “This was the ideal opportunity to finally bring in a system which would lessen the risk that unweighed and misdeclared containers pose to dockers, seafarers, truck drivers, the general public and the environment. Instead we have a compromise that in some countries will put in place a process that is likely to be bedevilled by the obvious questions: who will certify, when, and how?” Container weighing is only


one of several aspects of the container shipping industry that


Freight Association gave qualified support to the weighing proposals, describing it as “most probably the best possible outcome.” BIFA would now work with its members to work out how they comply with the requirements of the new rules when they come into force, without adding significant costs or causing supply chain delays, said director general, Peter Quantrill. But he pointed out that the


proposal still has to navigate several


stages through the


IMO’s legislative process and, if successful, will most likely not come into force before May 2017: “We understand that the draſt


guidelines will now be forwarded to the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) for approval in May 2014, and assuming that approval is forthcoming at that meeting, be formally adopted at a further meeting of the MSC in May 2015. It is usual for there to be a 24 month waiting period before SOLAS amendments take effect. “Clearly the implementation of


the new rules is a lengthy process that should give the industry time to adapt and allow our members time to make sure that they continue to comply with their responsibilities to make accurate cargo declarations.”


dangerous goods books


The UK P&I Club has revised and reissued the four booklets in its ‘Book it Right and Pack it Tight’ series. First produced eight years ago, the guides have been updated to embrace changes brought in by amendments to the the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code. The booklets explain how


all those involved in particular stages of the logistics chain should follow the IMDG Code and work to its stipulations in preparing containerised


shipments of


packaged dangerous goods for carriage by sea. The second part of each booklet is a comprehensive guide to the Code itself. They have been compiled by Richard Masters for the UK Club’s Carefully To Carry Committee, with advice and information from several shipping lines and Exis Technologies. They are designed for shippers


and forwarders, who classify dangerous goods and prepare


documentation, shipping line booking staff, managers and supervisors of organisations which pack dangerous


into shipping containers and fork liſt operators who work inside containers stacking, loading and securing dangerous goods. The books will be available in


English and Chinese. As well as being provided


to its containership operating members, the UK P&I Club is also forwarding copies to the International Chamber of Shipping publications store for sale on behalf of the Club (www. marisec.org). There are also four Powerpoint


presentations as additional training aids, each of which provides complementary material to support the guidebooks. These presentations can be downloaded from the loss prevention section of the UK Club website - www. ukpandi.com/loss-prevention


ICHCA to host packing seminar in October


ICHCA International, the association for the global cargo handling industry, will host a one-day practical seminar on the new code of practice for packing cargo in London on 22 October. ‘Understanding the new Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units’ will be held aboard HQS Wellington on the River Thames and will focus on the new code’s terms, their potential impact and how they will be enforced. Developed jointly by


the International Maritime Organization, International Labour Organization and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the new Code of Practice will be far more comprehensive than the original 1997 packing guidelines


and applies to all types of cargo moving in containers, trailers, swap bodies and rail wagons. Poor loading is responsible for an alarmingly high percentage of incidents. According to the TT Club, which is sponsoring and speaking at the seminar, poor packing and securing of cargoes should now be even more of a concern for members of the supply chain than inaccurate container weighing, an issue that has received much attention of late. ICHCA International chairman


David Bendall said: “Proper packing and securing of cargoes is a matter of universal supply chain concern, and not just in terms of dealing with new global rules. With the final draſt of the


new Code being considered at the IMO’s 18th DSC sub-committee meeting this September, this ICHCA seminar will be a first chance to get a detailed look at its contents and bring all the interested parties together to explore the next steps.” Speakers


will include Bill


Brassington, owner of ETS Consulting and consultant for editing the new Code; Chris Welsh, general secretary of the Global Shippers Forum; Don Armour, policy advisor at the Freight Transport Association; and Keith Bradley, hazardous cargoes advisor at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. For more details, visit www.etouches.com/ ichca-ctu-packing


goods


Weekly land service to and from Turkey Standard service, two drivers, faster transit time


For more information contact marketing.uk@dbschenker.com FBJ October_2013_ 60_270mm.indd 1 www.logistics.dbschenker.co.uk 14/10/2013 08:58:32


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