By Mike Wackett

(The Loadstar) – DP World’s two UK container terminals at London Gateway and Southampton are to supply shippers container weighing companies – to beat what it mentioned might be “a significant logistics barrier for UK exports”.

From 1 July an modification to the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) rules would require the named shipper on a invoice of lading to offer the VGM [verified gross mass] of a container previous to it being loaded onto a ship.

Shippers might want to present the VGM when containers are delivered to an export terminal for cargo on or after 1 July – supply may, in apply, be a number of weeks earlier.

Ganesh Raj, senior vp and managing director of DP World Europe & Russia, mentioned: “From our contacts with UK exporters, freight forwarders and shipping lines, it is clear that the industry is finding it challenging to provide the VGM of containers… this could become a significant logistics barrier for UK exports and world trade generally.”

DP World mentioned that after “extensive consultations” with the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) – answerable for implementing the brand new rules – it could implement “scalable solutions to weigh containers shortly after arrival in the port and provide the VGM”.

It added that the weights could be used for the stowage on containerships, guaranteeing that shippers utilizing London Gateway and Southampton “do not need to provide the VGM for their export containers”.

DP World’s announcement comes every week after the UK’s greatest container port at Felixstowe confirmed that it too would offer a weighing service to shippers.

Stephen Abraham, Felixstowe chief working officer, mentioned: “We have met with many customers and from their feedback it is clear that there is still a lot of uncertainty amongst exporters about the new rules.”

He mentioned the brand new guidelines had “the potential to cause significant disruption to export supply chains”, and to assist keep away from this the port had determined to offer the service.

There have been no related bulletins from Tilbury, Liverpool or from the regional ports within the UK that present export feeder spokes to the key hubs of Antwerp and Rotterdam. However, they’re anticipated to bow to the strain from provide chain stakeholders and supply a VGM resolution or threat dropping enterprise to the ports that do supply the power.

A weighing service at Felixstowe and Southampton represents one thing of a volte- face by the administration on the UK’s two greatest field ports – till very just lately they had been adamant that it was not their downside and expressed issues that providing a weighing facility would contribute to port congestion.

However, from feedback made to The Loadstar by events in Felixstowe final Friday, it was apparent that with lower than 140 days to go earlier than the brand new SOLAS rules come into power, the port had little choice however to discover a resolution to avert potential issues on 1 July.

However, in lots of ports within the 170 international locations which might be signatories to the UN IMO SOLAS modification, there was an alarming lack of comparable initiatives, and there might be chaotic begin to the necessary weighing regulation in the summertime.

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