site.btaTransport Minister Orders Additional Measures against Overloaded Trucks Entering, Leaving Bulgarian Ports

Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev has sent a letter to all port operators in Bulgaria instructing them to take additional measures to prevent overloaded trucks from entering and leaving the ports. The letter was prompted by road traffic accidents involving vehicles that left the ports with loads exceeding the maximum permissible weight, the Transport Ministry said in a press release Friday. 

The Minister calls on port operators to implement measures to prevent overloaded trucks from entering the national and municipal road networks.

Under the Road Transport Act, responsibility for ensuring that a vehicle does not exceed its maximum permissible weight lies with the shipper or the person performing the loading. Upon detecting violations, port operators must notify the Automobile Administration Executive Agency, which will take action within the scope of its authority, including imposing administrative penalties on shippers or the persons who loaded the vehicles.

Earlier on Friday, Transport Minister Peev, his deputy Anna Natova, representatives of state and private port operators, as well as industry organizations from the maritime and river transport sectors discussed measures to enhance the competitiveness of Bulgarian sea and river ports and their role in the development of the strategic Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.