The Federal Maritime Commission OK'd an agreement between the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association and six ports that would allow for the use of container weights determined at terminal gates to meet Verified Gross Mass requirements, the FMC said in a news release (here). The FMC also granted expedited review for the agreement to be effective ahead of the July 1 effective date for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention VGM requirements, it said. "Permitting this agreement to take effect as quickly as possible was in the best interests of all parties and I am pleased that the Commission was able to allow this agreement to go into force without requiring additional information," FMC Chairman Mario Cordero said. "The parties and Commission staff worked hard to come to consensus on how to best balance the desire to create this additional option for filing container weight information that would satisfy guidance issued by the US Coast Guard, with the need to tailor the agreement to the specific circumstances at hand." There's no reason to "not be flexible, practical, and pragmatic in providing ways to comply with these new obligations" and "I hope that other port authorities and terminal operators will be inspired to establish their own innovative processes to ease SOLAS VGM compliance," he said. 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 -- and OCEMA filed for FMC approval in May (see 1605200025).

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America created a new form that shippers can use to satisfy coming container weight verification requirements that go into effect July 1 (see 1606200004). The form (here) may be used to submit Verified Gross Mass information under the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). The group also updated its Shipper's Letter of Instruction form (here), it said. The NCBFAA also recently created a repository of SOLAS information (here).

California Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, introduced legislation that would replace PierPASS at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, he said in a news release (here). The bill (AB 531) would create "the Southern California Joint Powers Authority (SCJPA), which will have the power to implement policies that alleviate port congestion, expand port infrastructure, and reduce air pollution at the two ports. SCJPA will be governed by a board of representatives from the two ports, the Cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and other community stakeholders." PierPASS, a not-for-profit company owned by the ports' marine terminal, "is a lot like the typewriter, having once served a valuable purpose, it is now an outdated relic,” said O’Donnell, chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Ports. “The neighboring Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are one of our greatest assets, with billions of dollars’ worth of goods passing through the gates. We have a duty to ensure they remain a competitive and environmentally-friendly fuel for California’s economy.”

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.