AgTC Members Speak Out on SOLAS Amendment
Tomorrow, five prominent members of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) will explain the major detrimental impact that the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Container Weight Documentation Amendment will have on the US agriculture and forest products export industry. The amendment is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2016.
The Agriculture Transportation Coalition's SOLAS Container Weights Working Committee, comprised of U.S. agriculture and forest products exporters and their freight forwarders and trucking companies, has been active on this issue for months, reaching out to the steamship lines, Federal Maritime Commission, U.S. Coast Guard, and Congress to draw attention to the significant problems this amendment poses to the industry.
Tomorrow's meeting was arranged at the request of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, facilitated by Federal Maritime Commissioner Rebecca Dye who has been in close communication with the group.
Our position is that the shipper can only be responsible for certifying the weight of the cargo. A shipper should not be required to certify the weight of equipment (the container) which is owned or leased by the steamship line. The SOLAS Amendment, as issued, will require a costly and unnecessary redesign of the supply chain. Click here to read the AgTC's comprehensive Position Paper on the topic, released in early February.
The meeting convenes Federal Maritime Commissioners, Admiral Paul Thomas of the U.S. Coast Guard, and five steamship lines executives. The following AgTC Members will represent the organization at the meeting:
The Agriculture Transportation Coalition's SOLAS Container Weights Working Committee, comprised of U.S. agriculture and forest products exporters and their freight forwarders and trucking companies, has been active on this issue for months, reaching out to the steamship lines, Federal Maritime Commission, U.S. Coast Guard, and Congress to draw attention to the significant problems this amendment poses to the industry.
Tomorrow's meeting was arranged at the request of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, facilitated by Federal Maritime Commissioner Rebecca Dye who has been in close communication with the group.
Our position is that the shipper can only be responsible for certifying the weight of the cargo. A shipper should not be required to certify the weight of equipment (the container) which is owned or leased by the steamship line. The SOLAS Amendment, as issued, will require a costly and unnecessary redesign of the supply chain. Click here to read the AgTC's comprehensive Position Paper on the topic, released in early February.
The meeting convenes Federal Maritime Commissioners, Admiral Paul Thomas of the U.S. Coast Guard, and five steamship lines executives. The following AgTC Members will represent the organization at the meeting:
- Donna Lemm: AgTC SOLAS Committee Chair. Vice President of Global Sales, Mallory Alexander
- Perry Bourne: AgTC SOLAS Sub-Committee Chair for Reefer Cargo.Director, International Transportation and Rail Operations, Tyson Foods
- Sean Healy: Supply Chain Manager, The Scoular Company
- Cathy Nagin: General Manager, NOCS Transport/New Orleans Cold Storage
- Mike Symonanis: Director, North America Logistics/Global Container Logistics Group, Louis Dreyfus Commodities
