Shippers seek delay in UN's forced box weigh-ins - delay impossible: WSC
Time：2016-02-16
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The group called on the US Coast Guard for a delay in the implementation for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) container weigh-in rules, reports Lloyd`s Loading List.
"We cannot put US exporters at a greater competitive disadvantage than they already are due to the high US dollar," said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Washington-based Agriculture Transportation Coalition.
Mr Friedmann said the group was calling to delay implementation the way the Secretary of Homeland Security delayed the 100 per cent scanning requirement for inbound containers mandated by the 2006 Safe Ports Act.
Countries can implement the rule under their own guidelines, ensuring that shippers provide a weights based weighing before loading.
IHS Media reported that the issue has been raised by Friedmann`s group in Washington and members of Congress were starting to look into the issue.
But the World Shipping Council (WSC), the Washington-based trade group representing container lines globally, said unlike in the Safe Ports Act, which allowed the Homeland Security secretary to postpone the scanning rule, nothing in the law behind the container weight mandate allows for a delay in implementation.