In view of the recent easing of the SOLAS VGM requirements, specifically the Terminal Weighing Approach (TWA) where carriers will accept the weight from the terminal and not the shipper, we will no longer require the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) Certification distributed earlier this month.
News / Supply Chain Alerts
On July 1, 2016, the new container weight verification rule will go into effect and will impact shippers from 171 countries due to the added requirements of necessary documentation. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted this new requirement under the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter VI, Part A, Regulation 2.
The Port Authority of NY/NJ has reported a labor walk-off that took place at 10:53 this morning involving the workers of the International Longshoremen’s Association.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a new requirement under the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter VI, Part A, Regulation 2. The new container weight verfication rule will go into effect on July 1, 2016, and will impact shippers from 171 countries due to the added requirements of necessary documentation.
This amendment to SOLAS states that the shipper is responsible for providing the container’s gross verified weight to the ocean carrier and port terminal representative prior to the container being loaded on a ship; regardless of who packed the container.
Heavy rain fall in Chennai, India over the last three weeks has led to flooding, and the severe weather is predicted to continue for the next 72 hours.
The trade ministers from the 12 participating TPP countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam) after five (5) days of round-the-clock negotiations in Atlanta agreed on Monday, Oct 5, 2015 to the largest regional trade agreement in history. The final sticking points in Atlanta centered on the length of market protections for an emerging class of pharmaceuticals, tariffs for dairy products and rules governing how to classify where automobiles are manufactured.
The TPP still faces months of debate in Congress even as presidential candidates, labor unions and liberal activists line up to oppose the agreement. On the other hand, Congress gave the president “fast track” trade promotion authority (TPA) in June, which guarantees that trade agreements will receive expedited consideration in Congress and a yes-or-no vote without amendments or filibusters.
The full text of the Agreement’s thirty (30) chapters will not be available for a month. Under the terms of the fast-track legislation, the president must wait 90 days after the TPP agreement is completed before he signs it and sends it to Congress for a vote, and the text of the accord must be made public for at least 60 of those days.
For more information, please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.
The U.S. Customs & Border Protection announced this week they are delaying the mandatory migration date of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) to February 2016. Please keep in mind these two deadlines:
- November 1, 2015 is the beginning of the transition period for using ACE for all electronic cargo release and related entry summary filing.
- February 28, 2016 is the mandatory use date of ACE for all remaining electronic portions of the CBP cargo process, as ACS will no longer be available.
Four more fires broke out today at the industrial park where the Tianjin explosion occurred on August 12th. One fire was reported to have occurred in a logistics site for vehicles, and the other three fires were reported within the central blast area.
Also reported today was an increase to the death toll, which has now reached 116, with 60 people still missing.
MIQ Logistics has been providing updates on the logistics situation in Tianjin, since the explosion occurred last Wednesday, August 12th. The latest reports indicate that 114 people were killed in the blast, including 39 firefighters. As of this morning at least 70 people remain unaccounted for, and at least 700 have sustained injuries from the explosion. There are additional reports regarding the concerns around both air and water contamination near the site.
In the 36 hours since MIQ’s last Supply Chain Alert, there have been many new details surfacing in the aftermath of the Tianjin explosion.
While there are many details that are still unknown, MIQ Logistics would like to report to you what we do know at this time.