In late 2020 we reported that stevedores in Australia had implemented procedures to check the weight of shipping containers, imposing a penalty when they identified discrepancies of plus or minus one tonne (+/- 1t) between the actual and declared weights.
They have the authority to do this under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), the Marine Order 42. The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) provides that every party in the supply chain has a duty to ensure the safety of their transport activities. Since July 2016, the International Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) has required shippers to obtain and document the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of a packed container prior to vessel loading.
This week, online industry journal The Loadstar has filed an article titled ‘Shippers to pay the penalty as ONE becomes first to apply overweight charge.’ ONE is an acronym for Ocean Network Express, a container shipping line headquartered in Singapore that operates a network service covering over 100 countries.
They report that Asia-Europe ocean carriers are cracking down on rogue shippers who incorrectly declare westbound booking container weights and make last-minute verified gross mass (VGM) amendments. They add that, “Mis-declared booking weights can cause the weight allocations of individual alliance partners to be exceeded, ships to shut out cargo, contracts to underperform and revenue to be lost.”
ONE has said a weight discrepancy fee would be applicable from 01 July 2022 for bookings accepted on or after that date. The carrier advises that the penalty fee would apply where the cargo weight deviated by more than +/- 3 tons per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) from the bill of lading instructions and VGM documentation.
Under the SOLAS VGM regulations quoted above, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires – since 01 July 2016 – that the gross mass (cargo gross weight plus container tare weight) of loaded shipping containers to be recorded and verified before they can be loaded onto a vessel for export.
Previously, shippers would often estimate the weight of export containers or, in some cases, even deliberately mis-declare information, compromising the safe carriage of containers at sea and resulting in accidents relating to vessel stability and the collapse of container stacks.
Overall, the VGM regulations have been successfully implemented around the world, resulting in much safer supply chains. However, concerns have been raised in the past over the accuracy of weighing facilities, as well as the number of late VGM amendments.
An advisory from the container line operator ONE says, “The penalty fee also safeguards the commercial integrity of our agreements with all our customers.”
Leading Australian stevedore, Patrick Terminals, utilises a weighing device, called the Pondus Stand (pictured above), to check the weight of shipping containers on arrival here.
Do you have policies/procedures in place with your suppliers for the correct declaration of containerised cargo weight? If you do not have a VGM document trail, you will be liable if a discrepancy of more than one tonne is detected by on arrival at destination. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of assistance in liaising with exporting shippers on your behalf at the point of origin.
Contact us here at Colless Young if you have any queries regarding shipment of your containers and their weights, whether import or export. We are licensed Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders in Brisbane and handle trade, transport and shipping through all Australian ports and airports. Our services cover every aspect of logistics, including clearance of import cargo through customs and quarantine, warehousing and trucking.
