THE Shippers' Voice, an online forum for shippers, has lashed out at a move by container shipping lines who demand advanced freight information five days ahead of loading rather accepting the 24-hour advance rule set by the EU.
THE Shippers' Voice, an online forum for shippers, has lashed out at a move by container shipping lines who demand advanced freight information five days ahead of loading rather accepting the 24-hour advance rule set by the EU. Shippers Voice managing director Andrew Traill said that carriers' who demand shippers to produce container number and seal details before even delivering for loading, or in one case a request for government health certificate before containerisation, are "silly". Empty containers are unlikely to be released for loading by the documentation cut-off date, and certainly an Official Meat Inspection Certificate (OMIC) would not be issued before loading, he added. Mr Traill said a North American shipper of temperature-controlled cargo had just such a scenario with "fines" threatened if ocean bill of lading (OBL) was not produced within its arbitrary deadline, often way before the EU's 24-hour advance notice of Entry Summary Declaration (ENS). The shipper said his experience only extends to two shipping lines and reflects "how different carriers cope with tacking the same problems."
