Verification of exports begins on July 1
With effect from July 1 this year, local exporters will be required to verify the weight of their packed containers before they are exported, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Mr James Tiigah, has said.
The measure has become necessary because of a new requirement of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which requires shippers, shipping lines and terminal operators to ensure that a competent authority verifies the weight of their packed export containers before shipment.
Mr Tiigah made this known at the exporters forum jointly organised by the Ghana Shippers Authority and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority in Accra yesterday.
New requirements
The forum was intended to create awareness of the new requirement among Ghanaian exporters, study and understand the guidelines provided by the IMO and examine the way forward with regard to the implementation of the requirement and compliance by exporters before the due date
The purpose of the verified container weight requirement is to obtain accurate gross weight of packed containers so that vessels and terminal operators can prepare vessel stowage plans prior to loading cargo ships.
The new requirement is intended to protect vessels, personnel, assets of terminal operators, as well as shippers’ cargo and also requires of the shipper, the shipping line and the terminal operator to ensure that the weight of the packed container has been verified by a competent authority.
Declared weight
Mr Tiigah said the new requirement was to ensure that the declared weight was equal to the verified weight and warned that non-compliance with the regulation would prevent a container from being loaded onto a vessel for export.
He explained that the new requirement was to address safety issues at sea and on shore arising from container shipment that had incorrect weight declarations.
Mr Tiigah said a vibrant and successful export trade was inextricably linked with a maritime industry where players understood the rules of engagement.
Benefit to exporters
“We must understand that this regulation was to our benefit as exporters because the effect of wrongly weighed or overweighed car/containers has serious ramifications which could lead to incorrect vessel stowage decisions, collapsed container stacks, delay in shipment days, and lost container overboard,” he said.
Mr Tiigah said a delay in vessel arrival date for instance would impact very negatively on exports, especially if product were perishable, and urged the exporters to abide by the regulations.
For her part, Naa Densua Ayittey, the Head of Shipper Services at the Ghana Shippers Authority, explained that in November 2014, the IMO adopted mandatory amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) dealing with cargo information.
Overall safety
These amendments become effective on July 1, 2016 for packed export containers received for loading onto a vessel involved in international maritime traffic.
She said the amendment was to ensure the safety of the ship, the safety of workers both aboard ships and ashore, the safety of cargo and the overall safety at sea, as well as the stability of the ship and how it was likely to affect the stowage plan of the vessel.
