Ocean Carriers Seeking Container Weight Verification, Trade Groups Tell Coast Guard

Some ocean carriers are asking that shippers certify "both the cargo and the carrier's container" as a result of coming container weight verification requirements, said a group of trade associations in a March 14 letter to Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft (here). That's a problematic approach and the Coast Guard should continue to pursue the issue with a hands-off approach, as it has (see 1603030014), the groups said in the letter. There's ongoing controversy over International Maritime Organization rules under the Safety of the Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) on container weight verification set to take effect on July 1.

Those carrier demands that an individual with the U.S. exporter certify the weight "are being rejected," said the groups, which represent the customs brokerage, shipping and agriculture industries, among others. "Many US corporations will not allow their employees to certify the weight of and assume liability for equipment that the corporation does not own, manage, control, and in fact may not even see." The ocean carriers' requests for such certification "is contrary to the practical realities of our US export maritime commerce and fundamentally flawed conceptually," said the groups. The trade groups compared the practice "to demanding that a soybean shipper certify to the railroad the weight of the railcar itself."

The groups assured the Coast Guard that the issue can be handled through the business contract negotiations. "The Coast Guard’s position is reasonable and consistent with safety and competitiveness of US international commerce," they said. An approach to the SOLAS amendment that differs from the Coast Guard's current plans "would create US supply chain disruption and delay, competitive disadvantage for US exporters" and is "unworkable, given pace of cargo and electronic export data flow," they said. Also, existing CBP and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations already make accurate gross cargo weight reporting a requirement, said the groups.