Volvo fails to fit new rules
Russian cargo carriers count on postponement of amendments to Code of Administrative Violations (CоАV), which came into force in early August 2007. Last week, St. Petersburg carriers sent a telegram to the RF Transport Ministry with a request to suspend effect of Article 12.21 of CоАV till the Ministry introduces new rules for transportation of large-sized and heavy cargo.
The carriers think it’s too early to introduce penalty as the new rules are still under development. “We are ready to observe legislation but we ask to suspend effect of certain provisions till the mechanism is developed for them,” Vyacheslav Andreev, Director General of automobile operating company АТP No15, member of Carriers Union, told Wednesday at a briefing.
Carrying axle
Amendments to the CоАV effective from August 2007 provision considerable increase of fines for violation of trucking rules. The penalty itself was introduced long time ago but from before August 11 it was not high making only RUR 2,000. However revised Code provisions fining of companies for RUR 400,000 to RUR 500,000 in case of over 15% excess of weight. Besides, RUR 2,000 is to be taken as a fine from a truck driver. The majority of trucks engaged in international transportation may carry up to 35 tonnes, which is much more than limitations specified by new rules. Within seven months of the current year Russian businessmen purchased about 9,000 of such trucks. However new rules make them unprofitable. According to Ivan Zametalin, Director General of Matralen LLC, member of a Council on Coordination of Transport Activities under St. Petersburg Government, tomorrow the new trucks should be replaced with a higher number of smaller ones. “Hence cargo purchased in Europe and carried by European roads according to international norms, turns out to be beyond the law when entering the Russian Federation,” Zametalin says. “We carry cargo by modern motor transport complying with European norms and we invariably turn out to be violators here in Russia. The world tends to increase trucks capacity while we try to decrease it. We are proposed to replace Volvo with Kamaz.
Document for 100,000
Before possible suspension of the Federal Law requested by the carriers it is important to decide which way is more profitable: to decrease axle load or to buy a permit for a higher load.
Andrei Savelyev, Director of closed-joint stock company “Greenway-customs broker” thinks that carriers will have to increase considerably the number of cargo units (containers and trucks). According to the company’s data, average weight of cargo carried in a 40-feet container makes 18 tonnes, while the container itself weighs 4 tonnes. Shipment of an 80-tonnes batch under new rules will require additional 20-feet container, which will raise transportation costs by EUR 2,000 (21% of total transportation costs).
If the axle weight is exceeded, a carrier should have a special permit for RUR 100,000. Such a permit is given upon application of a company after it pays the fee as a compensation for road damage. There is no unified principle for obtaining of a permit. According to Irina Metel, executive secretary of the Council on Coordination of Transport Activities, the carriers have no possibility to obtain a permit within a day under “one-window” principle. “In the result, the difficulties related to obtaining of a permit make the carriers reject the orders,” Irina Metel says.
Ivan Zametalin tells the permit may be given for 21 days. However, such a document does not specify a route or a truck number. “Very often cargo transportation implies the use of federal, regional and municipal rods. Each type of road requires specific permit,” Zametalin notes. The carriers think it would be reasonable to get a permit for crossing certain points with strictly specified tariffs.
Besides difficulties related to obtaining of a permit the carriers found themselves in a situation when they do not know when they violate the rules. “Let us suppose a carrier is going to transport a machine in a container,” Sergei Kovalchuk, BOD member of a Union of Cariers and Forwarders, tells. “The machine’s weight is acceptable though its rear part is 15 tonnes while its front part weighs 6 tonnes, which makes it impossible to distribute the weight within the container thus resulting in exceeding of an axle load”. The forwarders understand they have no possibility to meet the requirement as there is no special equipment to measure axial load in Russian ports.
Anyway, higher costs will refer to large federal objects including road construction (St. Petersburg circle road and Western high-speed road, in particular). Besides, extra costs will finally touch the customers. “Transportation of a tonne of grain costs only RUR 3,000, while the permit is RUR 100,000,” Zametalin notes. “Consequently, the price for consumer goods may grow by 20%.
Under current situation, St. Petersburg Administration is willing to support automobile carriers in their negotiations with federal authorities. As PortNews IAA learnt from the press center of St. Petersburg Committee on Transport-and-Transport Policy, a number of appeals are being prepared to be sent to RF Government. “We hope for mutual understanding and for a dialogue with authorities to prevent situation similar to that of Novorossiysk”, Vyacheslav Andreev told at a briefing Wednesday.