European ports call for weighing clarity

With less than six months until new SOLAS rules come into force there is still said to be a lack of information and harmonisation at national level regarding the implementation.

Jasper Nagtegaal, chairman of the Customs and Logistics Committee, said: “From 1 July 2016, all containers to be loaded on a vessel will need to be accompanied by Verified Gross Mass (VGM).

“As of now, industry actors have released guidelines on the implementation of SOLAS requirement, but guidance from national authorities is still absent in many cases,” he added.

FEPORT has requested national authorities to develop guidelines that protect the efficiency of the logistics chain and do not create competitive distortions between Member States.

Member States are being encourage to draft guidelines which adopt a pragmatic approach.

Mr Nagtegaal added: “A lack of national guidelines will ultimately lead to confusion in implementation and will have an adverse impact on operations, leading to possible competitive distortion.”