The existence of multiple options for complying with coming container weight verification requirements will help to avoid hiccups once the rules are in place, World Shipping Council CEO John Butler said. Butler's statement was in response to comments from Chairman Mario Cordero of the Federal Maritime Commission, who said use of container weights as determined by terminal operators should satisfy the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) requirements of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) (see 1606170028), which go into effect July 1. "I think that the Chairman is trying to help, but to the extent his statement suggests there is only one path to VGM compliance, that is incorrect," Butler said. "Carriers have offered multiple transmission methods to their customers, and there are multiple places where loaded containers can be weighed. Increasingly it appears that marine terminals will be part of the solution. That is good news, but marine terminals are not the only solution, and not all marine terminals are offering these services. The Coast Guard, shippers, terminal operators and carriers are all saying that having multiple operational approaches is the way to go, and it is important to keep that flexibility in place in order to ensure a smooth implementation of the SOLAS regulation."

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America will petition the Federal Maritime Commission over detention and demurrage fees related to port congestion, the association said in an email to members. The NCBFAA, along with other organizations, plans to make an official filing with the agency and seeks "actual instances of these unfair charges and is asking members who have experienced such, or whose customers have been so victimized, to share them for inclusion in the petition," the NCBFAA said. The FMC recently said it has not received any official complaints on the subject yet (see 1604150026), now more than a year after the FMC released a report on the fees (see 1504140014).

The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) and Oakland MTO Agreement (OAKMTOA) terminal operators will continue to weigh containers in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements, the operators said in news releases (here) and (here). That information could potentially be used for new verified gross mass (VGM) reporting standards. The operators previously said a lack of infrastructure prevented weighing services (see 1604140029). The announcements mark a “positive step,” Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero said in a statement (here). Ocean carriers can use the information at their discretion, blazing a path for carriers and shippers that use WCMTOA and OAKMTOA terminals to work toward agreement that the container weights collected pursuant to OSHA mandates can also be used to report VGMs, Cordero said. "These announcements are positive steps toward achieving the flexibility of compliance with the new VGM reporting standards that we have all sought," Cordero said. "Shippers are going to look for the combination of services that eases their ability to move cargo while meeting regulatory expectations. To the extent carriers using terminals in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Long Beach embrace every opportunity they have to provide their customers with more options to relieve burdens from compliance, the more likely it is that those lines will be winning business and building loyalty."

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.

The three member terminal operators within the Oakland MTO Agreement are unable to provide weighing services for verified gross mass due to a lack of infrastructure, the operators said in a news release (here). Controversial Safety of the Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) amendments regarding weight verification are set to go into effect on July 1 (see 1603030014). Similar to the members of the West Coast MTO Agreement (see 1604040017), the Oakland operators said the insufficient infrastructure make such VGM services impossible. "Individual member terminals will establish and communicate their own policies for handling VGM procedures at their terminals," the group said.

Major Los Angeles and Long Beach port terminals lack the necessary infrastructure to provide verified gross mass weighing services under international container weight verification rules that take effect this summer, a group of 13 terminal operators said in a news release (here). The group, which make up the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement, said the member terminals lack the "infrastructure necessary to obtain [verified gross mass] using the methods specified within the guideline amendments." Controversial Safety of the Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) amendments regarding weight verification are set to go into effect on July 1 (see 1603030014). "Individual member terminals will establish and communicate their own policies for handling VGM procedures at their terminals," said the group. Ocean carriers recently adopted a "best practice" approach to comply with the SOLAS rules (see 1603220018).

Port operators and longshoremen should get an early start on negotiations over the next west coast contract to avoid the disruptions that plagued west coast ports in 2014, said a group of over 100 trade organizations in a letter to the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union dated March 15 (here). With the current contract set to expire in 2019, there remain “important and difficult issues” to resolve, and talks should “begin as early as possible in order to lay the groundwork for a new contract, or contract extension, without major disruption,” said the trade groups, which included the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, American Association of Exporters and Importers and American Apparel & Footwear Association. Both sides should also “pledge to avoid actions that would slow, stop, or disrupt cargo movement during negotiations,” said the letter.

American ports deserve more investment to help modernize and adapt to the growing volume of cargo, said Commerce Department Secretary Penny Pritzker, Labor Department Secretary Tom Perez and Transportation Department Secretary Anthony Foxx in a blog post (here). Those three visited Tradepoint Atlantic, an industrial development near the Port of Baltimore that made use of an abandoned steel mill, on March 8 to discuss infrastructure investment. During the visit, the government officials talked with leaders from ports, labor, shippers and retail companies about Federal government collaboration to build modern ports, it said.. "As a country, we are investing too little, and as container ships grow larger and larger, more cargo must be unloaded into increasingly tight spaces," they said. Such investments can improve U.S. port capacity and the new customs reauthorization law will mean more efficient enforcement of trade laws, they said. "We need to improve port efficiency now if we are going to maximize [the Trans Pacific Partnership's] ability to create more port-related jobs and ensure that more Made in America exports are shipped around the world," they said.

The new Tornillo-Guadalupe bridge and port of entry facilities in Texas are expected to open to commercial traffic in March, said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (here). The new port, near El Paso, opened to pedestrians and other traffic on Feb. 4, the Department of Homeland Security said in a separate news release (here). Construction on the new bridge and port of entry, which are hoped to alleviate traffic congestion in the area, began in 2011 (see 11072516).

The Transportation Department is seeking nominations for representatives to the Port Performance Statistics Working Group, which will form by Dec. 4, DOT said (here). Creation of the group, which will provide its recommendations for the new port metrics program prior to or on Dec. 4, aligns with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Nominations for the working group must be sent by March 24 to Bureau of Transportation Statistics Director Patricia Hu at portstatistics@dot.gov or mailed to Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Attn: Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room # E34-429, Washington, DC 20590.