In order to assist the implementation of the VGM amendment to SOLAS, which comes into effect on 1^st July, the IMO has agreed on certain enforcement guidelines and is expected to issue a Circular to all Member States this week.  Freight insurance specialist, TT Club welcomes the move, which crucially urges governments to engage with the industry in their jurisdictions to assist with compliance and to share best practice with other national authorities.

London 23^rd May 2016

At an International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee session in London that culminated on Friday, delegates agreed on guidance and advice to both those active in the container supply chain globally (shippers, carriers and port operators), as well as governmental representatives (so-called Competent Authorities) tasked with enforcing the regulation. The soon to be issued Circular will urge ‘practical and pragmatic’ enforcement of VGM over the first three-month settling-in period, partly in respect of transhipment containers but also recognising the probability of ‘teething’ problems in documenting, communicating and sharing VGM information.

TT Club, as an insurer closely involved in risk mitigation and safety measures pertaining to container transport welcomes this IMO guidance. “Like many others in the industry, we have been disturbed by the apparent confusion over how shippers will comply with the amendment to the Convention on Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS), making it mandatory for all packed containers to obtain and communicate the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) as a precondition to loading onto a ship”, says TT Club’s Risk Management Director, Peregrine Storrs-Fox.

“Moreover we have been particularly concerned about the patchy guidance given by national authorities to assist shippers and operators in minimising expense, delays and errors in complying with the regulation. This clarifying statement from the IMO is therefore welcome”, he said.

One area of potential confusion has been eradicated. Packed containers that are loaded on a ship before 1^st July but are trans-shipped on or after that date for carriage to their final port of discharge, will be permitted to do so without the VGM specified in the new regulation.

With regard to enforcement, given the difficulties to achieve uniformity of interpretation by authorities around the world and therefore a lack of the consistency that shippers (and others in the industry) clearly require, the IMO is urging a policy of ‘practical and pragmatic’ enforcement by authorities over the first three months.

Once more Storrs-Fox applauds the move, “There are no doubt still a number of grey areas. In order to give time for these to be resolved the IMO’s intent is that any party who has done its level best to comply, even if it has not technically fulfilled the letter of the law, may expect to be treated with understanding. Those, however who have done little or nothing can expect to be penalised”.

The four industry organisations (TT Club, World Shipping Council, ICHCA and Global Shippers’ Forum) that produced the ‘Industry FAQs’ in December 2015 are also intent on issuing supplementary guidance in advance of 1^st July.

In recognition that the revised requirements in relation to VGM are simply a part of the broader set of international safety requirements relating to the carriage of cargo, including the CTU Code (IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units) also approved during 2014, the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee emphasised that safe operation of ships is not limited to the provision and use of VGM information.

Crucially in order to bring the clarity of interpretation and consistency of implementation of VGM across all trading jurisdictions, the Maritime Safety Committee is delivering a strong message from its meeting last week. This is summed up by TT Club’s Storrs-Fox, “National governments, the signatories to SOLAS, need to engage closely with the container supply chain industry to assist shippers, terminal operators and ship masters in reaching compliance. Governments are also urged to liaise with each other‎ to share best practice, towards which a number of key authorities have already made significant progress”.

ENDS

About TT Club

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services.  As a mutual insurer, the TT Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

Customers include some of the world’s largest shipping lines, busiest ports, biggest freight forwarders and cargo handling terminals, to companies operating on a smaller scale but whose operations face similar risks. TT Club specialises in the insurance of Intermodal Operators, NVOCs, Freight Forwarders, Logistics Operators, Marine Terminals, Stevedores, Port Authorities and Ship Operators. The TT Club is managed by Thomas Miller. www.ttclub.com

Thomas Miller is an independent and international provider of insurance, professional and investment services. Founded in 1885, Thomas Miller’s origins are in the provision of management services to mutual organisations, particularly in the international transport and professional indemnity sectors; where today they manage a large percentage of the foremost insurance mutuals. Thomas Miller also manages insurance facilities for all the self-employed barristers in England & Wales, as well as trustees of pension schemes, patent agents and housing associations.

Principal activities include: Management services for transport and professional indemnity insurance mutuals

• Investment management for institutions and private clients
• Professional services

• Building defects insurance

www.thomasmiller.com

Darlington, UK, 10 May 2016

Exis is pleased to announce the introduction of two new e-learning courses for safe handling and packing in accordance with the CTU Code and to assist compliance with the SOLAS Verification of Gross Mass (VGM) regulation. TT Club has provided sponsorship to support development of the courses.

As consistently evidenced by the experience of both global freight transport insurer, TT Club and the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) Organisation, poor CTU packing is responsible for an alarmingly high number of incidents  leading to damage, loss, injuries and fatalities.  Additionally, the declaration of incorrect container weight (or Gross Mass) also contributes to adverse safety conditions.

There have been two recent, important developments that are aimed at improving this situation.    The first is the introduction of the Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code) formulated jointly by three United Nations bodies, IMO, ILO and UNECE*, and approved as non-mandatory international law.  The second is the amendment to SOLAS** to require verified gross mass (VGM) for packed containers, which enters into mandatory force on 1 July 2016.

Exis Technologies, a leading supplier of compliance systems to the freight transport industry, has responded to these positive initiatives to improve transport safety by introducing two new e-learning courses.

• Introduction to the CTU Code Course provides an overview to the CTU Code.  It highlights how to navigate the key sections of the Code and how it can support training in the packing and securing of cargo into/onto CTUs.  The course is aimed at all those  who are involved in packing and consigning goods through the supply chain, including warehouse operators, forwarders, freight depot staff, hauliers and logistics service providers. This practical course contains direct links to the electronic version of the CTU Code.
• Introduction to Freight Container VGM Course explores the verified gross mass requirement, including the two methods permitted in obtaining VGM, being weighing the container once it is packed (Method 1) or weighing all the constituent parts and adding that to the tare mass of the container (Method 2).  This course is designed to provide all the information needed to understand why this legal requirement was developed, its objectives and offer practical solutions.

The new courses will follow the tried and tested e-learning format already being used for the Exis IMDG Code e-learning courses, launched in January 2010 to meet the mandatory requirements for training of shore side staff involved in shipping dangerous goods by sea.

The end of course review and assessment will provide a final summary and test understanding of the material covered.   A course completion certificate will automatically be generated that can be printed out and kept as a record of training.

The courses are available for the web or as SCORM (learning management system) compliant content packages for national, regional or global training programs.  The courses are set up on an e-learning administrator system to enable in-house management for staff undertaking the training,  including course configuration, setting pass marks and timeframes for completion and progress monitoring.

Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director, TT Club, commented, “TT Club has long been concerned over the safety implications of badly packed cargoes in containers and other cargo transport units (CTUs).  The CTU Code and changes to SOLAS requiring Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of packed containers are important steps in promoting good practice and improving efficiency in the supply chain.  Training is clearly the number one loss prevention measure and, if adopted as a core feature of the operator’s culture, can greatly reduce the number of incidents incurred globally each year throughout the industry.  These  e-learning courses offer high quality and easily accessible training for all those involved in freight transport, each of whom materially impact safety.”

The new courses are also supported by the International Cargo Handling Association (ICHCA).

More information is available at www.ctupack.com

*International Maritime Organization, International Labour Organization, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

**International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea

ENDS

Notes for editors:

What is the aim of the CTU Code of Practice for Packing of CTUs?

The aim of this IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code) is to give advice on the safe packing and securing of cargo into cargo transport units (CTUs) to those responsible for the packing and securing of the cargo, and by those whose task it is to train people to pack such units. The aim is also to outline theoretical details for packing and securing as well as to give practical measures to ensure the safe packing of cargo onto or into CTUs.

In addition to advice to the packer, the CTU Code also provides information and advice for all parties in the supply chain up to and including those involved in unpacking the CTU.

The CTU Code also addresses issues such as training and the packing of dangerous goods.  It states, ‘The successful application of this Code concerning the packing of CTUs and the achievement of its objectives are greatly dependent on the appreciation by all persons concerned of the risks involved and on a detailed understanding of the Code. This can only be achieved by properly planned and maintained initial and retraining programmes for all persons concerned with the packing of CTUs.

The online version of the CTU Code of Practice is available here: https://www2.unece.org/wiki/display/TransportSustainableCTUCode/CTU+Code

What are the requirements for verified gross mass (VGM)

In November 2014, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted mandatory amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter VI, Part A, Regulation 2 – Cargo information. The SOLAS amendments, effective from 1 July 2016, place a requirement on the shipper of a packed container, regardless of who packed the container, to verify and provide the container’s gross verified gross mass (VGM) to the ocean carrier and port terminal representative prior to it being loaded onto a ship. VGM is the combined weight of a container’s tare weight and weights of all the packages and cargo items, including pallets, dunnage and other packing and securing materials packed into the container.  It can be calculated using one of two approved methods: either weighing the packed container as a whole, or weighing the cargo items and all dunnage, lashing and securing material and adding this to the tare of the container.

About Exis Technologies:

Exis Technologies, headquartered in Darlington, UK, is the leading supplier of compliance systems for the management of dangerous goods in sea transport. For over 25 years major container shipping lines, ports and shippers have been relying on Hazcheck Systems for regulatory compliance, efficiency and safety in their global operations. They serve 80% of the top container lines.

Exis Technologies also develops e-learning courses for the transport industry.  IMDG Code e-learning is a cost-effective training solution for shore side staff that has been implemented by half of the top 20 container lines as well as shippers and logistics operations worldwide. CTUpack e-learning is a range of online courses for the safe handling and packing of CTUs, including the new Introduction to the CTU Code and Introduction to Freight Container VGM courses.

About TT Club

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services.  As a mutual insurer, the TT Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

Customers include some of the world’s largest shipping lines, busiest ports, biggest freight forwarders and cargo handling terminals, to companies operating on a smaller scale but whose operations face similar risks. TT Club specialises in the insurance of Intermodal Operators, NVOCs, Freight Forwarders, Logistics Operators, Marine Terminals, Stevedores, Port Authorities and Ship Operators. The TT Club is managed by Thomas Miller. www.ttclub.com