The Philippines: Exporters to document verified gross mass of containers from June 16

 

PPA Administrative Order (AO) No. 02-2021, issued May 27, 2021 and in force starting June 16, provides the revised guidelines on the implementation of mandatory weighing of export containers.

 

The order covers “all export containers passing through government ports under the administrative jurisdiction of PPA.”

 

AO 02-2021 states that “the responsibility for obtaining and documenting the VGM of a packed container lies with the shipper,” a task previously handled by terminal operators. This, the AO said, is to align the practice with International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations.

 

Early this year, the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT) and the Export Development Council (EDC) lauded the proposed PPA policy as a positive move toward complying with the Philippines’ SOLAS VGM commitments. But they also requested PPA to ensure implementing the AO would not add to the already heavy burden of exporters.

 

PHILEXPORT recommended that the weighing of export containers should be at no cost or at least be at minimal cost to exporters, especially to small businesses who are still struggling to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

 

Calibrated and certified weighing facilities should also be installed in strategic areas outside the ports to help avoid congestion and delays that could disrupt shipment schedules and pad up shipping costs, it suggested.

 

For its part, the EDC said it was unnecessary and redundant to require shippers to declare the container’s VGM since certified operators were already doing this function at the port for a fee. The requirement was also an additional cost burden as exporters must invest in calibrated and certified equipment to comply with the VGM regulation.

 

AO 02-2021 said the SOLAS regulations require the shipper to verify the gross mass of the packed container using either of two methods, and to communicate the VGM in a shipping document.

 

Method No. 1 entails weighing the packed container using calibrated and certified weighing equipment.

 

Method No. 2 involves calculating the sum of the single masses—cargo items plus all packages including pallets, dunnage, and securing material as well as the container tare weight—using a state-certified and approved method.

 

The shipper should then ensure the shipping document contains the required details including the VGM, container number, and booking or bill of lading number, among others.

 

The document should also be signed by a person duly authorized by the shipper and submitted in advance to the ship’s master and the terminal operator; otherwise, the packed container “shall not be loaded on to the ship,” the AO further stated.

 

The shipper should make the VGM information of each container available to the carrier via electronic data interchange or other electronic means, such as Terminal Appoinment Booking System and container gate-in/gate-out report message.

 

If the actual weight of the container as declared in the shipping document is within the 1,500-kilogram threshold, no weighing fee will be imposed on the shipper.

 

Any weight discrepancy above or below 1,500 kilograms will be deemed misdeclared and shut-out charges prescribed under PPA regulations by way of penalty will be imposed on the shipper in addition to the weighing fee.

 

The AO said PPA may also report to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) a record of any weight underdeclaration that violates pertinent LTO rules and regulations.

 

All transhipped containers will not require any further weighing after the first port of origin or loading, unless the container has been stripped and re-stuffed. If a transhipped container exits a port and is transported to another port (e.g. North Harbor to the Manila International Container Terminal or South Harbor), it needs to be weighed again.