LEGAL liability for getting container weights straight will fall on the forwarder when verifiable weigh-ins become compulsory on July 1 next year, says a paper from TT Club, the London marine insurers.
Forwarders catch legal liability for providing verifiable box weightsLEGAL liability for getting container weights straight will fall on the forwarder when verifiable weigh-ins become compulsory on July 1 next year, says a paper from TT Club, the London marine insurers.
The TT Club noted that unlike the Cargo Transport Unit (CTU) Code, which seeks to identify the chain of responsibility for all involved the transport, the amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), mandating weight verification, names the "shipper" as the prime mover.
"Thus, in many cases, the responsibility for actual ‘verified' declaration will rest with a freight forwarder, logistics operator or NVOC," said the TT Club.
"This means that often reliance will have to be placed on others to have adequate certified methods to provide verified gross mass ?particularly for consolidation business," TT Club said, reported Lloyd's Loading List.
TT Club noted that Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) mandating weight verification also names, the master and the terminal operator, but their responsibility is limited to refusing containers that have no verified weight.
TT Club said the term "shipper" may encompass a range of people involved in the contracting, packing and transporting of cargo. However, as stated in the World Shipping Council guidance. But in the end, said the TT Club, he who's name appears on the bill of lading, carries the can.
