In 2015, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) published amendments to the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Convention making it compulsory to verify a container’s gross weight which is a condition for placing a container onto a ship.
These rules include the following:
- The loader/dispatcher is responsible for verifying the container’s gross weight. The dispatcher can authorise a third party to carry out the weighing process;
- Placing a container which has not had its weight verified onto a ship is a violation of the SOLAS Convention;
- There are 2 methods that can be used to determine a container’s Verified Gross Mass (VGM):
- Method 1: requires the container to be weighed after it has been loaded;
- Method 2: requires all cargo to be weighed along with the remaining contents of the container (pallets, stowage material, etc.), and afterwards adding the tare weight of the container.
In both methods, the weighing equipment must be certified and calibrated. In method 2, the weighing process must also be certified.
The Verified Gross Mass of each container must be sent to shipping companies and shipping lines before being loaded on board the ships. Each shipowner can set deadlines and other requirements for sending information.
