SWISS forwarding giant Kuehne + Nagel (K+N), reckoned to be the world's biggest, says container weight verification is needless and will complicate and add costs to shippers.
K+N senior executives have condemned the United Nations rule that takes effect July 1, adding that regulatory burden on shipping is growing and often unnecessary.
The UN's International Maritime Organisation promulgated the mandatory container weight verification rule to take effect July 1, leaving it to member states to enforce it.
But the US Coast Guard (USCG) refuses to do so. Rear Admiral Paul Thomas said guidelines for the implementation of new amendments to SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) regulations were "not mandatory under SOLAS" and not mandatory "under any US regulation".
This may be a policy shift as it willingly polices the UN's 200 nautical mile zone around the US continent to enforce emissions control areas (ECA).
That would leave ports, carriers and terminal operators to do the enforcing. The latter two are implementation hawks. Ports have stayed silent for the most part.
While keen on implementation, they do not relish turning away cargo that might well migrate to a more forgiving ports, carriers or terminals, agreeing that a third party should do the policing.
Said KN chief executive Detlef Trefzger "We will see whether that rule will be applied or not. We don't see any value-add in weighing containers."
Carriers like Maersk point to the supposed dangers of overweight containers contribute to marine disasters like the sinking of the MSC Napoli and the MOL Comfort. But while such charges are backed by speculation, there is no evidence that that overweight containers played a role.
Said Dr Trefzger: "The question is, where is the sense or where is the advantage for the industry or the supply chain? And here we would say it's an unnecessary development."
Said KN chief financial officer Markus Blanka-Graff: "The unfortunate thing is that there is no power of decision on our side and we have to live with it. And I think it's going to make the supply chain more expensive."
K+N senior executives have condemned the United Nations rule that takes effect July 1, adding that regulatory burden on shipping is growing and often unnecessary.
The UN's International Maritime Organisation promulgated the mandatory container weight verification rule to take effect July 1, leaving it to member states to enforce it.
But the US Coast Guard (USCG) refuses to do so. Rear Admiral Paul Thomas said guidelines for the implementation of new amendments to SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) regulations were "not mandatory under SOLAS" and not mandatory "under any US regulation".
This may be a policy shift as it willingly polices the UN's 200 nautical mile zone around the US continent to enforce emissions control areas (ECA).
That would leave ports, carriers and terminal operators to do the enforcing. The latter two are implementation hawks. Ports have stayed silent for the most part.
While keen on implementation, they do not relish turning away cargo that might well migrate to a more forgiving ports, carriers or terminals, agreeing that a third party should do the policing.
Said KN chief executive Detlef Trefzger "We will see whether that rule will be applied or not. We don't see any value-add in weighing containers."
Carriers like Maersk point to the supposed dangers of overweight containers contribute to marine disasters like the sinking of the MSC Napoli and the MOL Comfort. But while such charges are backed by speculation, there is no evidence that that overweight containers played a role.
Said Dr Trefzger: "The question is, where is the sense or where is the advantage for the industry or the supply chain? And here we would say it's an unnecessary development."
Said KN chief financial officer Markus Blanka-Graff: "The unfortunate thing is that there is no power of decision on our side and we have to live with it. And I think it's going to make the supply chain more expensive."