DP World Australia achieves 100% VGM compliance

News 4 Jul 2016 by WCN Editorial

Terminal operator has achieved 100% SOLAS compliance without weighing any containers in its terminals.

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DP World Australia announced it “achieved 100% Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of all containers traveling through its Australia ports at the weekend, following changes to Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) legislation, which came into effect on Friday, 1 July 2016.

“The changes mean that every export container leaving Australia meets the requirements of SOLAS, giving full visibility of cargo mass to customers' vessels,” DP World stated in a press release.

Chief Operating Officer, Max Kruse, attributed the achievement to months of planning and testing. Working together with vehicle booking system specialist 1-Stop in Australia, DP World Australia jointly developed additional mandatory fields to Australia’s PRA process “to ensure the information being captured from the shipper is accurate and supports the requirements from the regulator (AMSA)”.

As previously described by WorldCargo News, in Australia exporters must complete a “Pre-Receival Advice” (PRA) – an electronic form that gives a detailed description of a container prepared for export. It is a well-established practice (since 2004) that a PRA must be completed by the shipper, and verified and accepted by the port before a container can be received into a container terminal.

The PRA process is managed through a Port Community System (PCS) developed and administered by 1-Stop. The PRA is mandatory for every full export container and without this document, a container cannot enter a major container terminal.

Working with terminal operators and Shipping Australia, 1-Stop developed a VGM declaration form inside the PRA. Shippers are required to enter data showing: whether calculation is by Method 1 or Method 2; the VGM; name and particulars of the person making the declaration or of the person authorised by the shipper to make the declaration.

1-Stop then take this information and convert it to an EDI VERMAS message to be sent to shipping lines who opt for it whenever the PRA has been accepted by the terminal. The Terminal uses the VGM information from the PRA to create the BAPLIE files.

“DP World globally welcomes the new SOLAS regulation, which assists in promoting safety across our terminals for our employees, customers and communities,” said Mr Kruse. “Every employee at DP World Australia works with a commitment to safety, at all times. Our 100% compliance rate on the weekend is a credit to our people, 1-STOP and our customers.”