Heavy Vehicle National Law Mass Exemption Notice 2019 (No.1) issued for the movement of overweight import containers from stevedores to approved Container Freight Stations (CFSs) within the Port Botany precinct.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator has issued a Notice (effective 11 June) updating the requirements and guidelines road transport operators must comply with when containers being collected from Port Botany stevedores are identified as being overweight or axle weight limits are exceeded.
Information in the Notice includes approved routes, maximum mass limits under the exemption and details of the five CFSs prescribed to conduct rectification activity to ensure compliance with HVNL mass requirements prior to the container being moved from the Port Botany precinct.
Road transport operators have welcomed the development as a further initiative that enhances the safety of heavy vehicle operators and other road users.
Paul Downey, General Manager of Trojan Transport & Bond Services (one of the prescribed CFSs) and Road Freight NSW Container Sub-committee member stated 'Safety is a critical factor for all operators involved in the movement of shipping containers, and Australia has been at the forefront of initiatives to improve safety outcomes. The issue of the Notice by the NHVR is a further step in making the critical 'final mile' delivery of containerised freight safer for all parties by ensuring overweight containers don't make their way onto the public road network'.
While praising the initiative, Downey stresses that there is more work to be done, pointing out that the Notice doesn't address the issue of overweight containers moved out of the Port Botany precinct by rail to intermodal terminals and the Notice needs to be supported by appropriate RMS enforcement initiatives.
'The volume of containers being moved by rail is increasing, and the intermodal terminals don't have the Weigh-In-Motion facilities that identify mass violations when containers are moved by road out of the Port Botany terminals. Road Freight NSW will be seeking to work with the regulators and the intermodal terminal operators to get this gap addressed sooner rather than later', Downey stated.
Documents referred to in this article: HVNL Notice NHVR Guide