貨物重量通知及提交貨櫃總重驗證之規範與建議

THE REGULATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR CARGO WEIGHT NOTIFICATION AND THE PROVISIONS OF VERIFIED GROSS MASS FOR PACKED CONTAINERS

海上貨物運送服務，貨物重量係託運人通知事項之一，且對交運貨物重量應向運送人擔保其正確無訛，因通知不正確所生或所致之一切毀損、滅失及費用，託運人應負賠償責任。國際海事組織（IMO）所屬海事安全委員會（MSC）修訂海上人命安全國際公約（SOLAS），規範載貨貨櫃總重驗證（VGM），已於2016年10月1日生效，乃為船舶航行及海上人命安全而設，蓋貨物重量不實申報或疏忽，或將導致航行安全疑慮，因而明定載貨貨櫃於裝船前，託運人或其授權之人須提交VGM，否則不應裝船。為討論VGM之規範，本文探討國際海運公約對貨物重量規範之立法趨勢，深入檢視IMO及我國VGM之規範，提出實務應用上VGM誤差可接受範圍及處理具體建議，並針對我國海商法第55條提出修正建議。本文研究結果可提供航政主管機關制定VGM之規範，及未來海商法修正建議之參據。

In maritime cargo transportation services, the cargo weight is one of the matters notified by the shipper. In addition, for the weight of the consignment, the shipper shall guarantee its correctness to the carrier. The shipper shall be held liable for warranty including damages, losses and costs arising from or in connection with such incorrect notification. For the navigation and safety of life and property at sea, the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has amended the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea to clearly regulate the verified gross mass (VGM) for packed containers, which entered into force on October 1, 2016. Due to safety concerns from misdeclaration or negligence of cargo weights, the shipper or his authorized agent is required to submit the VGM for packed containers before the shipment; otherwise, the shipment should not be performed. In order to discuss guidelines of VGM, this research explores the legislative trends of the international maritime conventions on cargo weight-related regulations. Through an in-depth review of IMO and Taiwan’s VGM regulations, it not only puts forward suggestions on the acceptable scope and treatment of VGM errors for practical applications, but also proposes amendments to Article 55 of Taiwan’s Maritime Law. The research results can be served as a reference for the competent authorities in the formulation VGM regulations, and for suggestions on the amendments to the Maritime Law in the future.