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As outlined in our announcement of May 3, 2016, with the introduction of the amendments to SOLAS regulations, effective July 1, 2016, the responsibility for the submission of the VGM (Verified Gross Mass) lies with the shipper. In the FAK/LCL environment, given that Shipco is the shipper of record on the Master Bill of Lading, that responsibility lies with us.
This means that Shipco will submit the VGM - in the required format and within the defined deadlines as provided by every carrier/terminal.
We will assume that the weight of any given LCL shipment, as submitted to us by you/on behalf of your customer, is true and accurate. Given, again, that Shipco is submitting the final container VGM, we are very much reliant on this precise information. We will not be asking for a specific document to be submitted to us certifying the weight of a specific shipment. We will accept weight information via the same method we do today - i.e., as part of the regular documentation flow accompanying the shipment.
For the sake of due diligence, we will be performing spot checks on individual shipments upon receipt at our CFS's. Similarly, we will be doing checks on full containers, once loaded.
There is no doubt that SOLAS will add cost to the logistics process. As such, we are introducing the following fees/surcharges to cover additional expenses:
LCL
- SOLAS Admin fee: $15 per shipment, applied to every shipment
- SOLAS Weighing fee: $7.50 w/m, min. $25, applied if you require us to weight any given shipment
FCL
- SOLAS Admin Fee: $8 per container, minimum $25 per bill of lading
- SOLAS VGM Fee: $25 per container plus any and all additional third party charges (obtaining actual weight certificate, additional dray, demurrage, waiting time, repositioning, etc.), when you require us to have a container weighed
In terms of FCL, we will require that you submit a VGM for each container to us. We have prepared a simple form for this purpose, which can be found on our website: http://shipco.com/apps/solas.html
We will continue to keep you updated with any other changes in process and procedures as we move forward.
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