With less than 100 days until the SOLAS amendment is due to come into effect, the new container weight rule is developing in different ways globally, with contrasts in the way penalties are being enforced for those who are not complying in the correct manner, according to the Journal of Commerce.
An agency document released by the Argentine Naval Prefecture said: “If there were clear grounds for believing that the information declared does not match the actual gross mass of the packed container, the terminal may weigh the container.
Whitepaper: Container Weighing Explained
“This weighing shall be the responsibility of the shipper only if the verification results [are] in a difference that is greater than the allowed tolerance.”
Concurrently, Denmark has established an alternative approach to the declaration of a container’s weight.
A preliminary order from the Danish Maritime Authority said: “As an alternative to a suitable weight, measuring equipment ensuring that the weight of the packed container is established within an accuracy of +/- 1,000 kilograms may be used.”
The container weighing rule has caused much uncertainty in the industry, with terminal operators globally voicing concerns as to the correct way to weigh a container.
