Maritime NZ secures better deal for NZ shippers

Maritime NZ secures better deal for NZ shippers

02 June 2016

Maritime New Zealand has successfully lobbied at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for flexibility in introducing new regulations for verifying container weights – and that will benefit our exporters.

“It is important to understand that about 97 percent of our country’s trade is by ship,” Maritime NZ Acting Director Lindsay Sturt said. “Disruption to during the transition to the new regulations could cause unnecessary and potentially costly delays.”

Mr Sturt said New Zealand port companies and exporters had raised concerns about how new international regulations will be introduced on July 1, and Maritime NZ took up those concerns.

Under the IMO’s new regulations the shipper exporting a container must provide its “verified gross mass” by methods set out in the regulations. If it does not, then the container will not be loaded. (See the June issue of Maritime NZ’s magazine Safe Seas Clean Seas for more information http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz and enter Safe Seas in the search field.)

Currently, container weights are declared but some serious incidents in the past have shown inaccurate declarations and grossly understated container weights. Overseas, dangerous incidents include container stacks collapsing, and ships’ being overstressed and becoming unstable.

“The new weight verification rules are an important safety measure to help protect seafarers, cargoes and ships. We are glad they will be a requirement for international shipping,” Mr Sturt said.

New Zealand’s two concerns were about the transition to the new regulations. Specifically, how to manage containers loaded before July 1 but that will reach their final port on or after that date, and any possible teething problems with necessary software updates, data sharing, and communication systems.

The IMO has agreed to a practical and pragmatic approach for the three months after July 1.

It will permit packed containers that are loaded on a ship before July 1 to be shipped to their final port without the verified gross mass, and flexibility to refine, if necessary, procedures for documenting, communicating and sharing verified gross mass information, without stopping shipments.

“This is a great example of how we can work together as a maritime industry and have an impact on international trade issues that really matter to New Zealand,” Mr Sturt said.

See the June issue of Maritime NZ’s magazine Safe Seas Clean Seas for more information about:

• container weight verification

• several articles about how the new Health and Safety at Work Act applies to safety at sea

• review of the coastal navigation framework

• changes to seafarer certification, SeaCert

• several stories about the safer boating campaign aimed at recreational boaties

• Cape Campbell lighthouse stars in movie, The Light Between Oceans

• fines imposed after passengers had to be rescued from charter boat

• Maritime Labour Convention to protect seafarers’ rights

• industry cooperation averts Chathams diesel drought.

http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/Publications-and-forms/Safe-Seas-Clean-Seas/SSCSJun16.pdf

or go to http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz and enter Safe Seas in the search field.

ENDS

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