On June 13, the Brazilian lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, approved a legislative draft (PDC 760/17) that contained amendments to the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships of 1969. The proposal is now up to vote by the Senate. The amendments were adopted in December 2013 and are intended to adapt the convention’s text to the reality of the audits carried out by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the signatory states. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the convention quantifies the volume of cargo that a ship can carry on international voyages and can directly influence the cost of Brazilian maritime trade, as certain port fees are linked to the volume of cargo actually shipped. The audit of all parties to the contract, according to the text, must be based on a schedule set by the IMO Secretary-General, taking into account the guidelines developed and conducted at regular intervals. Signatories must also perform the audits in accordance with an IMO scheme and conformity with a standard reflected by the so-called IMO Instrument Implementation Code.
Sources: Câmara Legislativa/Datamar News