Ocean Carriers, Eastern U.S. Ports Agree to Alternate VGM Approach

The Ocean Carrier Management Association and six ports will "develop a common streamlined 'Terminal Weighing Approach' to providing verified gross mass ('VGM') at port locations," OCEMA said in a news release. The six ports -- South Carolina Ports Authority, Georgia Ports Authority, North Carolina State Ports Authority, the Port of Houston Authority, The Port of Virginia, and the Massachusetts Port Authority -- joined OCEMA in a May 19 Federal Maritime Commission filing about the cooperative effort, OCEMA said. Controversy continues to surround plans to enforce the International Maritime Organizations verified gross mass (VGM) amendment to the Safety of the Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention that takes effect July 1 (see 1605190006). "Under the proposal, marine terminals would weigh a container on certified terminal scales, pursuant to the equivalency declared by the U.S. Coast Guard," said OCEMA. "This weight could then be used to fulfill the U.S. exporter’s IMO SOLAS VGM requirement. The approach would provide flexibility for shippers at participating ports." The details "are still being vetted," but the group plans to add the Terminal Weighing Approach to its "Best Practice" (see 1603220018) as an "additional accepted method of submitting VGM at the participating port locations," it said.