Additional Container Weighing Legislation Adds to the Burden

Additional legislation will not have any significant effect on container safety in transport overseas, the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) said with respect to the issue of the proposed weighing of containers.

 
The proposition comes as ever growing number of shipping accidents are caused by overweight containers, incorrect declarations of the loaded container weights, poorly packed and secured cargo inside the containers.

To handle this problem, the maritime world has requested the IMO to consider the mandatory weighing of all containers.

In September 2013 IMO reached a compromise proposal to weighing, concluding that shippers should be required to verify the gross.

The weight must be transferred “sufficiently in advance to be used in the preparation of the ship’s stowage plan.”

The lack of this data will result in the packed container not being loaded onto the ship.

If the proposal becomes accepted it would take effect in July 2016.

“We believe that the need for weighing should be based on a proper risk analysis of the quality of the data transferred between shipping lines, shippers and customs authorities.

Also, shippers would want to work with international organizations such as UNECE and industry stakeholders to identify the currently witnessed poor practices and developing best practices. Together, we can all promulgate these to those that handle and load containers,” the Council said.

“It is now clear that a holistic approach is needed to tackle properly the safety problem seriously,” ESC added.

In the end, according to ESC, there are still several topics still pending regarding weighing of containers:
• Deadline to submit weight
• Open access to PCS
• Responsibility of the tare of the container
• Acceptable margin

[mappress]
World Maritime News Staff, July 23, 2014; Image: IMO