Global shipping law deadline catches Kenya unawares

MOMBASA, KENYA: Importers using the port of Mombasa have expressed fear that Kenya and its neighbours might miss a global deadline requiring them to weigh all cargo at the port of loading before it is shipped.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) imposed the regulation three years ago to improve maritime safety and integrity of cargo by tracking its weight on transit and set July 1 this year as the deadline for shippers to comply.
Cargo owners in the region have indicated it would take urgent preparations and further sensitisation for the country to meet the July 1 deadline.
East African Shippers Council (EASC) chief executive officer Gilbert Langat said although the global rule was agreed upon three years ago, Kenya might be forced to negotiate for extension of time because it was not yet ready less than a month when the new rule enters into force.
Mr Langat said it was not yet clear what percentage cost would be factored as weighing charge and exactly where the exercise will take place; at the port of Mombasa or container depots.
"There is need to identify third parties with well calibrated weighing equipment to avoid any hitches. It is also important for the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) as the industry regulator to determine the percentage cost of weighing the containers and ensure there is no exploitation in the process," Langat said.
KMA has said it would be mandatory in Kenya to determine the weight of packed shipping containers before they are loaded onto ships.
The new safety measure was based on international regulations developed by the United Nations International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
With the new regulation in force, it is hoped shipping experts will ascertain exact weight of cargo ships carry across the seas.
KMA which regulates the maritime industry says the new measures are meant to improve safety of life at sea by July 1 this year.
KMA acting managing director Mr Cosmas Cherop said in a public notice on Thursday the regulation on Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of packed shipping containers will come into force on July 1 this year and that cargo owners who fail to comply would not have their containers loaded onto vessels at the port of Mombasa.
"The shipper shall be responsible for obtaining, documenting and communicating to the port and the shipping line the VGM, that is total gross mass, of the packed container. Failure to which a packed container received at the port without the verified gross mass shall not be loaded into a ship," cautioned Mr Cherop.
According to KMA, the requirement followed the amendment of the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) at Chapter VI Section 2.