The judgment in ‘MSC Flaminia’ found that extensive information available concerning the stability of the commodity was ignored and not disclosed to the carrier. “Disaster was foreseeable result”.
Industry sentiment expressed at the ICHCA Seminar entitled 'SOLAS VGM One Month Out - Are You Ready?' held in Antwerp last week, was one of frustration. Less than 15% of the IMO Member States in which VGM regulations will be mandatory have issued guidelines on the manner in which they intend to enforce the regulation.
How often is a deficiency found but not acted upon, or an incident occurs, and it is not reported? Loss and near miss reporting has always been a thorny topic, but needs to rise above issues of corporate and national culture.
