New maritime rule likely to make recycling exports more expensive

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The recent amendment to the international law of the sea may make overseas shipments of recovered materials more expensive beginning July 1^st, 2016. The recycling exporters have already expressed their dislike to the new rule.

The February edition of ISRI’s Scrap Policy & Advocacy News reported that container shippers are required to verify and provide the container’s gross verified weight to the ocean carrier and port terminal representative prior to loading on a ship. The new rules were officially ratified by the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee during last November. The new rules have to be implemented and enforced by each nation’s maritime authority. The Coast Guard is responsible for formulating the final regulations in the US.

The amendments provide two methods for the shipper to obtain the verified gross weight of a packed container. In the first method, the shipper weighs the packed and sealed container using calibrated and certified equipment. In the second method, the shipper weighs all packages and cargo items, including the mass of pallets, dunnage and other packing and securing material to be packed in the container, and adds the tare mass of the container to the sum of the individual masses of the container’s contents.

The container gross weight assessment can be done by the shipper himself or by a third party. In either case, the weight declaration document musty be signed by an authorized shipper representative and be made available to the terminal operator, the ship’s master, and appropriate government officials upon request. The gross container weight data must be sent to the carrier and terminal before the arrival of the container at the pier.

The ISRI communication reminded that the amendments are due to take effect in less than six months from now. Parties in the container supply chain should go forward with implementing necessary processes so as to ensure smooth transition into the new system.