Shippers question ‘silly’ demands to meet security regulations

Some carriers are asking for the freight data five days in advance of loading when the EU requires it only 24 hours in advance for sea freight.

One North American shipper of temperature-controlled cargo has been faced with the carrier demanding the information including the container number and seal details before the container had even been delivered to the shipper for loading.

Moreover, one carrier even requires government health certificate numbers by the same cut-off date, despite the reality that empty containers may not even be released for loading by then. “And government regulators certainly aren’t going to issue OMIC certificates before cargo is containerised,” said Traill.