A port authority member of the Club leased part of its land to a terminal operator. One of the conditions of the lease was an obligation on the authority to keep the berth area clean and free from debris. The terminal regularly shipped helicopters to overseas destinations: they were usually flown to the terminal and landed there to be prepared for transport. On each occasion the terminal operator would advise the port authority advance. On one occasion, although advance warning was received, the member's maintenance department failed to check the area: when the helicopter landed, the down-draught threw up rock salt and other debris, left from an earlier snowstorm. The helicopter itself was damaged (although fortunately it did not crash), while the windshields and bodywork of several hundred cars in a nearby storage area were also seriously affected by the flying debris.
When the requirement for verified gross mass (VGM) was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in November 2014, preparations should have started through the containerised supply chain to reach compliance. Now less than two months to enforcement, what final steps need to be in place?
With the effective date of 1st July getting ever closer, the need for all involved in the international transport of containers to be prepared for the revised SOLAS Convention regulations on container weighing has recently been once more emphasised by freight transport insurance specialist TT Club.
The recent action against Qatar by a growing number of countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain on 5th June 2017 is likely to affect a number of TT Club Members as they undertake their normal business operations. The situation appears more likely to affect the TT Club's NVOC, Freight Forwarder, Container line operator and logistics company Members, but Ports and Terminal operator Members could also be impacted in respect of affected cargos passing through their facilities. At this stage it is too early to tell.
While not often receiving much publicity, the need for ships in distress to find a safe refuge is all too common. Clearly this is an important area of responsibility in the maritime interface.
