The International Association of Ports and Harbors applauds the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for its adoption at the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) 93rd session last week of the Amendment of SOLAS Regulation VI-2 regarding Mandatory Weighing of Gross Mass of Containers before loading onto ships. The committee also adopted relevant guidelines regarding the verified gross mass of a container carrying cargo.
The amended rule requires shippers to submit verified gross weight of containers before loading onto ships. Without such document, relevant export containers shall not be loaded onto ships. The amendment and its guidelines will be effective July 1, 2016, after due adoption by MSC 94thsession in November 2014.
“IAPH welcomes adoption of this Amendment as the regulation will enhance safety of maritime container transportation,” said IAPH President Grant Gilfillan, Chief Executive Officer/Director, Sydney Ports Corporation, Australia. “IAPH has been an outspoken advocate on this issue for several years now because mis-declared or incorrectly declared container weights are one of the major causes of maritime container accidents in ship navigation, road transportation and terminal operation.”
Gilfillan added, “There was only ever going to be one effective solution to this problem and that was to mandate that container weight verification occur at the point of origin, which is an issue requiring International Regulation. Within each global jurisdiction there will no doubt be different approaches taken to ensure weight verification. In the interests of port operators it will be the position of IAPH that weight verification should be completed before a container enters the port precinct. To not do so will continue to allow a significant risk to road users within the port and to terminal operators (stevedores) if they have to handle a container with unverified weight. Expecting a terminal operator to verify the weight as part of its handling process is not a complete solution, and the IAPH will be encouraging regulators within governments or port jurisdictions to seek solutions which verify container weights as close to the point of packing as is practical.”
The IAPH directly addressed this issue by adopting a resolution in 2011 at its 27th World Port Conference in Busan, South Korea, making IAPH member survey on container weighing in 2012, and issuing a joint press release with other maritime associations in 2013.
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