How the IMO / SOLAS Container Weight Verification Will Help the Industry

Post by James Oliver 

 

As many are now aware, on July 2016, the IMO/SOLAS container weight verification law will come into effect. The approved amendments will require the verification of container weights prior to placing loaded containers aboard ships. This will be a mandatory requirement, and the container will not be loaded without it.
The IMO offered two methods where the verified gross mass (VGM) of a container transport unit (CTU) can be obtained: 

• Method 1 requires the shipper, or a third party duly appointed by the shipper, to have the packed CTU to be weighed prior to loading.

• Method 2 requires the shipper, or a third party duly appointed by the shipper, to weigh all the itemized cargo and dunnage (pallets, strapping) and adding those weights to the container’s tare weight as indicated on the door end of the container.

 Although the announcement of the new container weight verification rules was met with a fair amount of condemnation and much has been written about the disruption it will cause, we should also highlight the benefits of such legislation.

“On average a total of 1,679 containers are lost at sea each year.”(Avg. 2008-2014)  

Alarmingly the accidents due to wrongly declared containers are all too common. 4,293 containers were lost in 2013 with the sinking of the MOL Comfort in the Indian Ocean. Most of these containers have never been recovered.
 
The MV Deneb in 2011 rolled over in port due to 1 in 10 containers varying between 1.9 to 6.7 times above the declared weight. 
In 2007, the MSC Napoli suffered a catastrophic hull failure and needed to be beached to avoid braking up.

According to the ship’s Classification Society (DNV), one of the main reasons for this disaster was excessive weight of the containers onboard. A staggering one in five (1/5) of containers had been wrongly declared as underweight, on average 3 tonnes per container, with the greatest difference of declared versus actual 20 tonnes. 

In 2007, The Annabella suffered from seven of her containers collapsing while crossing the Baltic Sea. The collapsed stack clocked in at 225 tonnes. Around 225% higher than the bottom 4 containers stacking capacity and 150% more than the maximum allowable stack weight.

These are just a few examples of the importance of the need for container weights to be declared as verified gross mass. 

MSC Napoli Disaster, 2007  

The environmental impact of these accidents can only be speculated; however, when you consider that the contents of the lost containers will eventually spill out into the ocean and be dispersed by currents, you can imagine the lasting effects. 



 

There is now a need to increase awareness within the ocean freight industry on the advantages of this legislation and how we can all help to encourage its smooth deployment. Some of the benefits we foresee are the following:  

Correct Data in Time for Accurate Ship Planning. With the legislation putting theresponsibility back onto the shipper, this will enable ports to plan loads (accurately) toensure correct ship layout and load planning. When the accurate weights are relayed to the ship planners, they are able to layout the load to ensure: 

•  The ship is stable o Hull strength and stack weights are not exceeded 
•  Lashing arrangements are effective 
•  Vessel efficiency and reduced fuel consumption  

Increased Safety. Improved and known stability of trucks, trains, and vessels. The safety of terminal operations and personnel is largely influenced by container weights. If the accurate container weight is verified at the time and place of packing, it improves the safety in all these modes of transport before the container and freight starts its journey.

Decrease Accidents. Numerous near misses, injuries, and even fatalities are reportedyearly due to improper packing and mis-declared weights. The financial impact due to lost and or damaged freight is significant.  

Financial and Efficiency Benefits. Not only can we measure savings from reducedaccidents and related damage / loss expenses on environment, life, vessels, product,containers, and rectification. Efficiency improvements will be evident due to dangerous containers identified at the place of packing and not congesting busy ports and infrastructure.  

Improvements in Logistics and Transport Communications. The container weight verification can be viewed as another tool to improve communications between the shipper and carrier.  

Improved Inventory and Quantity Management for Manufacturers. The amendments will provide international consistency on the container weighing process allowing manufacturers, shippers, and carriers more advantages with on-call data of each weighed container. 

Decrease Lost Cargo. The implementation of the legislation will encourage shippers and their agents to be more vigilant about keeping an eye on all their cargoes and CTUs. 

Decrease Damage to Shipping and Handling Equipment and Containers.Shipping handling equipment and containers that last longer.   

Accurate declaration of CTU weights benefits all parties involved in the transport of shipping containers. It is clear that all parties including the shippers, 3PLs, MVOCCs, shipping agencies,port operations, ship owners, and ship masters will benefit from this legislation. 

The IMO / SOLAS amendments must be seen as enforcement of a responsibility that every party in the freight chain already acknowledges and must accept. IMO places the onus on the shipper to report a verified gross weight. Our focus is not one of condemnation of this legislation but finding a way to help the shipper (be it method 1 or method 2) to embrace this opportunity to improve the industry