IMO calls on member states to delay enforcement of VGM rule
THE UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has called for a three-month delay in implementing its July 1 rule that no container be loaded aboard ship without its weight being verified.
The safety rule has triggered fears of widespread backups, reports the Wall Street Journal. Now the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee is urging member state governments to postpone enforcement of the rule until October 1
Freight insurer TT Club urges governments to engage with industry to assist it with compliance.
The circular will urge "practical and pragmatic" enforcement of VGM (verified gross mass) over the first three-month settling-in period.
This has partly to do with problems with transshipment containers but also recognises teething problems in documenting, communicating and sharing VGM information.
"Like many others in the industry, we have been disturbed by the apparent confusion over how shippers will comply," said TT Club risk management director Peregrine Storrs-Fox.
"We have been concerned about the patchy guidance given by national authorities in complying with the regulation. This clarifying statement from the IMO is therefore welcome," he said.
Packed containers loaded before July 1 but are transshipped on or after that date for carriage to their final port of discharge, will be permitted without the VGM specified, he said.
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