Tag: Master Terminal

As of July 01, 2016, it will become mandatory to verify a container’s weight before it is loaded onto a vessel.

With the clock counting down to 1 July when the new SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Verified Gross Mass (VGM) rule takes effect, there is still a lot of confusion and many questions being asked about what it will mean to the industry. There have been some suggestions in the media lately that shippers, terminal operators, and container lines will get some leeway in the first three months while things are sorted out. However, this should not be taken as a license to do nothing. The rule is here to stay and those who do nothing risk penalties.

There have been many “how to videos”, infographics and articles published on what the rule is, but very little on how companies can transform their operations and actually undertake the container weighing. At Jade we are well prepared. Our Terminal Operating System (TOS), Master Terminal™, can record a container’s VGM using in-machine technology or weighbridges.

If you would like to find out more about Jade’s approach to VGM, read the Master Terminal container weighing fact sheet or our article Worth the weight?

Since March this year, Jade Logistics’ terminal operating system, Master Terminal, has been ready to capture a container’s VGM, making Jade one of, if not the first TOS vendor to introduce this functionality into their software.

The countdown is on. Less than two months remain until the International Maritime Organization’s new container weighing regulations take effect. As of 1 July 2016, the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention requires, as a condition for loading a packed container onto a ship for export, that the packed container has a Verified Gross Mass (VGM).

Yet despite this impending deadline many terminal operators globally have decided to bury their heads in the sand and will not be ready when the updated maritime treaty comes into force. Whether that is due to disorganization, blind optimism that shippers will take full responsibility for container weighing, or that their software does not have the functionality to record VGM, it was not an option for Jade Software.

Master Terminal can now record a container’s VGM using in-machine technology or weighbridges. Terminal operators also have the option to manually enter a pre-recorded container VGM and mark it as verified.

Paying heed to Ship-planning Message Design Group (SMDG) guidelines and working alongside ship operators, we have updated Master Terminal to enable sending and receiving  the VGM of a container in a variety of accepted EDI message formats. The new VERMAS EDI message, which communicates a container’s VGM, authorized person, and responsible party, is also now part of Master Terminal EDI functionality.

At Jade, we pride ourselves on innovation, and our development process differs from other vendors in our industry. While many of our competitors update their software on a yearly basis, we deliver monthly releases. Our users benefit from this agility. It means we can quickly and easily introduce features like VGM processing, so Master Terminal users can benefit from new functionalities within a matter of weeks, not months or years.

With our agile monthly release process, we are able to work alongside our customers and continually enhance Master Terminal to meet their changing needs. Or as our developers like to put it “we listen”. It may seem like a simple statement, but the fact is that many ports have to make do with a generic TOS that they are shoehorned into. They receive software updates infrequently and don’t have a say in what is included in those updates.

So while our users will be up and running processing and recording container weights, a service that they can ultimately charge shippers for, many of our competitor’s ports will find themselves having to decide whether to record VGM manually, a laborious and time-consuming ordeal, or to purchase additional third-party software, a costly and inelegant solution that often throws up difficulties when trying to interface with existing systems.

If you would like to find out more about Jade’s approach to VGM, read the Master Terminal container weighing fact sheet or our article Worth the weight?

With new container weighing regulations due to take effect in July 2016, is your port in position to capitalize on this industry-changing opportunity? 

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) has, for many years, required the weight of any freight container to match the weight declared in shipping documents. Despite this regulation, a string of incidents due to inaccurate weight measuring has revealed how regularly this rule is glossed over, or interpreted as ‘roughly matching’ rather than ‘exactly matching’.

The Journal of Commerce cite reports that the proportion of global container trade that is wrongly declared could be as high as 20%.

Because ports typically use the weight recorded on the carter’s note to plan for stowage, if the measurement is out, this can have potentially detrimental effects on on-board weight distribution. It also affects port procedures including crane failure due to containers exceeding crane load limit; and instability on trucks or rail carriages.

Heavy boxes may be placed higher in stacks, with lighter boxes bearing the bulk. This can often lead to stacks collapsing, causing damage to the cargo and ship, and putting crew in danger. It could even result in cargo tumbling over board. This can create environmental damage as well as sea vessel navigation hazards. According to The World Shipping Council, approximately 546 containers are lost at sea every year (excluding during catastrophic events).

Reports by The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) show that a commonality of many stack failure incidences was incorrectly declared container weights.

The MAIB speculated that the reason incorrectly declaring a weight is so prevalent is due to two main factors:

1. the lack of accurate weighing facilities available to shippers
2. shippers deliberately declaring lower weights to avoid import duties, maximize container use, and bypass road and rail weight rules.

As the responsible party for setting minimum standards for international shipping design, construction and equipment, SOLAS is taking action. In response to the preventable environmental, economic, and safety accidents caused by inconsistent container weighing, SOLAS is enforcing a new requirement in July 2016 – each container’s weight must be verified.

Reports point to the global insurance industry pushing this initiative hard as a way of reducing losses due to misdeclared container weights.

So what does this mean for terminal operators?

While the main responsibility for accurate weighing falls on shippers, terminal operators do need to protect themselves by ensuring weights are accurately recorded. According to an insurance expert quoted in the Journal of Commerce terminal “operators are at risk when they lack evidence for their refusal to carry a container.”

While the regulation presents an opportunity for some, like Dunedin-based firm Bison who have created revolutionary weighing jacks, many organizations are unprepared for this legislation change and have spent little time planning how to implement this new requirement. Anyone involved in container operations – shippers, hauliers, carriers, and terminals – need to be aware of the time, equipment, and processes required to verify container weight, and have everything in place before 1 July 2016. Otherwise they could be facing serious operational, commercial, and legal consequences.

To learn more about how Jade’s terminal operating system Master Terminal handles the challenge of container weighing, download the Master Terminal container weighing fact sheet.