THERE appears to be a gathering consensus to have the carriers responsible for gathering verified container weights as they seem to be the most interested in securing them.

Speaking at the Global Liner Shipping Conference in London earlier last week, US Federal Maritime Commissioner William Doyle said carriers should be responsible for reporting the weight of containers.

A report in Lloyd's List said Mr Doyle also called on shippers and ocean carriers to come together and find a solution, saying it would be unacceptable for US exports to be left at the dock for lack of a verified gross mass (VGM).

FMC Commissioner Richard Lidinsky agreed with Mr Doyle. This was also the position taken by the big farm shipper lobby, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition.

Last month, European port organisation FEPORT also agreed the container weight verification guidelines did not provide enough guidance.

"A lack of national guidelines will ultimately provoke confusion in the implementation and will have an adverse impact on operations and lead to possible competitive distortion," FEPORT said.

Such are the resentments of those who increasingly think that those who want the data should gather it as required by July 1 by the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) after it amended the 1914 Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) treaty concerning lifeboats after the Titanic sinking.

Oakland's GT Nexus, a cloud based maritime interactive shipping portal, is calling for clearer guidance. Like its rivals INTTRA of New Jersey and CargoSmart of Hong Kong, GT Nexus takes cargo bookings and conveys what shippers say is the VGM when they fill out electronic forms with no one having to verify anything.

GT Nexus, speaking for 70 major shippers, said it was unclear on why shippers should be required to certify the weight of equipment they do not own.

The company also wanted to know whether shippers can use an estimated or "generic" tare weight to allow VGM submission before cargo is loaded, and how shippers can communicate VGM quickly enough to ensure containers loaded a short distance from the terminal do not arrive at the terminal gate prior to the VGM information.

"Despite recent guidance from the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association, there continues to be a lack of knowledge over who is legally responsible, how or if ports and terminals will be involved," said the company statement.

Also unknown is what happens in situations such as near-dock loading, street turns, and supplier compliance. "Considering that there are multiple ports, countries and carriers each developing their own guidelines, the need for a global process standard is critical," said GT Nexus.