Two months into SOLAS, a need for oversight emerges

This past July, the new amendments to the SOLAS (Safety Life At Sea) regulations for ocean freight shippers finally went into effect after much debate and hype from those who had both supported and opposed their initial adoption. It being the end of August, it behooves those of us in the shipping and logistics industry to take a look at where we stand with SOLAS now in effect. Although it may be too soon to take their true measure, there does seem to be a growing consensus over at least one problem with the regulations.

The adoption of the SOLAS amendments by the IMO (International Maritime Organization) were part of an effort to enhance the safety of all international shippers by ensuring that the weighing of the gross mass of containerships (now the responsibility of the shipper) was held to the same standards as air and land measures, thus cutting down on the vehicle damage and movement of illegal goods that are often related to improperly weighed cargo. The regulations were sold to the maritime industry as ones that would, over the long run, save them money and improve quality control through a strengthening of safety across the industry. Although there was much initial kickback from companies, due to the potential cost increase of ocean freight transport stemming from the requirement of new resources needed to comply with the new measurement standards, it was agreed by many industry experts and organizations that the difference would be made up by the reduction in mistakenly declared cargo weights, additional administration fees (and fines) that result from those mistakes, and the damage caused by overweight containerships.

All of that is yet to be seen, but one thing that many shippers seem to be in agreement on, now that they must abide by the new regulations, is that when it comes to the actual weighing process, there is a troubling lack of oversight. Several anecdotes, such as one example from Australia where a typo on a VGM (Verified Gross Mass) declaration changed the weight of a containership from 18,000kg to 1,800kg (which worked out very, very well for the freight forwarder), brought into question not only the reliability of the bureaucratic process inherent to SOLAS, but also (and more importantly) the lack of compliance between shippers and SOLAS. Many are quick to point out that in this case, the ‘correct’ weight of 18,000 seems like an estimate, meaning that the approved methods for getting an accurate reading of the VGM (verified gross mass) of the containership weren’t used. What was the point, they wonder, of passing these new regulations and having companies prepare for them if estimates are just as acceptable as exact measurements? Another problematic example stemming from the lack of oversight, is that Maritime Safety Authorities in different countries can set their own rules (so long as they fall within the established guidelines of the IMO) when it comes to weight tolerance accuracy. This causes a disparity in accuracy that cuts against the entire reason for the new amendments, and is causing conflict between some shippers and their countries Maritime Authorities for imposing harsher requirements than those followed by trade partners. Why, shippers in Australia ask, should they be forced to follows stricter, most expensive measures than shippers in New Zealand or China? Again, the question boils down to oversight. There may not be a way to rectify this specific issue, since it seems impossible to get these Maritime Safety Agencies in all of the countries represented within the IMO to agree to the same weight tolerances, but that just points again to the flaws inherent in SOLAS.

After all of the hoopla surrounding SOLAS it won’t do anyone any good to try and roll them back. Safety and quality control should take precedent, as they add to the mutual benefit of everyone involved in the ocean freight industry. If, however, those behind the new SOLAS regulations want their efforts to prove successful, and if they want to prove that their critics are wrong to worry over increased costs and bureaucratic incompetence, they must do everything they can to create the oversight that is essential for SOLAS to work.