2
Shipper
BULKDISTRIBUTOR
May/June 2016
Lack of understanding still haunts VGM application
W
ith just over a month left before the
rule on verified gross weight (VGM)
enters into force in July, shippers and
forwarders still do not know how to comply,
according to Drewry Supply Chain Advisors’
research.
Better information on compliance requirements
and options is starting to be communicated to
shippers and non-vessel operating common
carriers (NVOCCs), but there are still many gaps,
the analyst outfit says.
For example, none of the 20 NVOs met by
Drewry when it ran a global ocean freight tender
for a US multinational in April said that they were
ready to comply globally. According to shipment
management software firm CargoSmart, only 10
percent of countries have published national
guidelines on how to comply with the new weight
regulation.
Beneficial cargo owners and NVOCCs believe
that the top two challenges to comply will be
the extra process to obtain the weight
information and getting the weight information
‘verified’.
The Hy-Weigh lifts containers in situ to provide weights in increments of 50kg via a digital read-out
Speaking at the Containerisation International
conference in London in April, OOCL process
expert Paul Deacon said that the Hong Kongbased carrier has to identify whether all the ports
and terminals which it uses will allow into the
terminal a container without a VGM and whether
they provide a weighing service. “Some terminals
in the Far East have not yet declared what they will
do,” he said.
In Drewry’s opinion, many of the stakeholders
are not only too late in communicating how
shippers and NVOs can meet their new obligation
of declaring a VGM , but there is a complete lack
of standardisation and co-ordination.
For example, Drewry says different countries use
different implementation guidelines; some
terminals will accept containers without a VGM
whereas others will not; different carriers will have
different VGM cut-off times, which themselves this
can differ from the container yard cut-off time.
In spite of all this, Drewry says it is urgent that
shippers talk to their carriers to clarify and finalise
compliance process for their countries and
terminals. And remember to plan for likely port
and logistics delays from 1 July.
Limited progress towards compliance has been
made, Drewry states. Certain terminals have said
that they will provide weighing services (generally
at a cost of about US$20-30 per container.
Technology services providers CargoSmart and
Inttra have introduced services to enable shippers
and NVOs to send the VGM to carriers
electronically, a free service to existing customers
for CargoSmart and about 50 cents per
declaration for Inttra.
Meanwhile, a minority of countries have
published compliance guidelines, including on the
tolerance on the declared weight, and some
carriers have said when the VGM declaration will
be expected from the shipper.
Ahead of the regulation, the International Tank
Container Organisation (ITCO) has prepared a
number of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).
The information covers background to the new
regulation, and on the concept of verified gross
mass.
ITCO recommends that tank container operators
plan ahead and make preparations as appropriate.
It also lists numerous website links where further
clarification can be found.
•
At the recent Multimodal event in
Birmingham, UK, Hy-Dynamix launched a
mobile container weighing solution which is
claimed to give digital read outs within 10
minutes at point of packing.
The Hy-Weigh (pictured left) can weigh
containers up to 35 tonnes and uses four corner
hydraulic elevation jacks, raising the container in
situ and displaying the weight in increments of
50kg via a digital read-out.
The system is self-contained on its own specially
designed pallet, and its control panel allows for
individual corner raising and lowering.
“We designed a product which is simple, easy to
use, and reliable, with no complex software or
electronics,” said Graeme Parkins, managing
director of both Hy-Dynamix and the firm’s parent
company Dyer Engineering, which was established
in 1977 in County Durham in North-East England.
The firm says it removes the need for dedicated
container cranes, weighing systems or
weighbridges, and is easily deployed and moved
around a facility.
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