Ways to Comply With SOLAS Weight Verification Requirements

The amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter VI, Part A, Regulation 2 — Cargo information require shippers to verify the gross mass of a container before loading it onto a ship. Such a requirement is long overdue: consider the accidents and equipment damage caused by overweight but misdeclared containers on the road, on railways, and at sea. And yet these requirements, which will take effect by July 2016, are being met with unwillingness or at least consternation in some sectors within the freightand logistics industry.

The clamour is understandable. Systems can be upheaved. Is it possible to begin complying with the new weight verification requirements before July 2016?

We believe there are existing ways to comply with the SOLAS weight verification requirements.

Under the SOLAS weight verification requirements, shippers can verify the gross mass of a container transport unit (CTU) in two ways:

1. weigh the packed CTU
2. weigh the cargo and all packing and securing materials before ingress, and add this to the CTU's tare mass

METHOD 1

Weighing a packed container would most likely take place at the shipper's yard using a weighbridge. It will be too late in the loading process for this to take place at the port.

The issues

1. Weighing the cargo only at the yard or port means transporting a potentially overweight CTU from the warehouse, thereby exposing the truck driver and civilians to danger.
2. If shippers are willing to invest in weighing equipment and processes, they will recover the investment through additional fees or higher rates. The same scenario results if a shipper engages a third party or a terminal operator to weigh the CTUs.
3. Shippers will need to reconsider their operational sequence, as weighing every single CTU can add hours to the loading process, especially for those that handle hundreds or even thousands of containers a day.
4. Are shippers willing to take the responsibility of weighing consolidated cargo?
5. What happens if a CTU is found to be overweight? Will it simply be rejected by the port? Will the consignor have time to repack its contents or miss the boat? The shipper will bear the blame even though a third party did the weighing.

Possible solutions

1. Weighbridges. This is existing equipment, which means it can be readily available. But this method requires land for the weighbridge and for waiting trucks and containers. Using a weighbridge also means having to deduct variables such as the weight of the truck, fuel, and driver.
2. Container cranes with load-bearing sensors. Again, this is existing equipment, eliminating learning curves for operators. It does not require additional land area. The drawback is that container cranes cannot determine individual CTU weights when lifting in twin mode, as is often done to save time.
3. Spreader twist locks. These require no extra land or heavy equipment, and can weigh containers individually even when lifting in twin mode. However, spreaders tend to be used late in the ship-loading process, and many freight carriers have a minimum 24-hour window for weight verification to guide stowage planning.

 METHOD 2

If cargo is weighed before it is loaded into the CTU, the party responsible for packing must use certified equipment and present valid documentation of the CTU’s verified gross mass.

The issues

1. Such a method of loading cargo is not suitable for homogeneous goods such as grains and sugar, as well as liquids in flexitanks.
2. How can the shipper ensure that the weight declaration is true and has not been forged? And if it is found to have been forged, the responsibility still falls on the shipper for having transported a misdeclared, overweight CTU.
3. Without the proper equipment, weighing several cargo loads may prove inefficient.

Possible solutions

1. Hand pallet trucks. These are equipped with digital scales that can print the weight of the loaded cargo along with its pallet. But if your load is large, irregularly shaped, or extremely heavy, the hand pallet truck can get unwieldy. This can make the cargo fall off the equipment, damaging the goods and possibly harming the worker.
2. Mechanical loaders. While these don’t typically come with weighing equipment, the technology is on its way. The Tynecat one-shot container loading system has just been fitted with weighing equipment that displays the accurate weight on a touch-screen and prints it out. It can collate multiple loads to obtain an overall mass and add the tare mass of the CTU. In the interest of safety, the Tynecat container loader’s weighing system will also be able to determine the centre of gravity (CG) for each load, and ultimately the CG for the fully vanned CTU.
3. Make larger pallets. With a loader that can carry long and large packs, it makes sense to make larger pallets to save time during loading and weighing. It can also help with maximising container capacity utilisation without surpassing the allowed weight.
   
   Having the packer weigh the CTU and its contents means being able to give the shipper advance information for cargo stowage planning. It helps avoid loss of productivity caused by having to repack a container found at the yard or port to be overweight. This method can also prevent accidents and damage that could result from transporting a potentially overweight CTU from the warehouse to the port.

4. "It is important that the gross mass of the packed unit is established before the journey begins"

   “From a pure safety perspective, it is important that the gross mass of the packed unit is established before the journey begins,” says the TT Club, a provider of insurance and relatedrisk management services for the transport and logistics industry. While many consignors are already doing this, the SOLAS weight verification requirements institutionalise the practice and provide standards. They also establish responsibility and impose fines for misdeclaration.

   Even as the amendments raise concerns of potential chaos in the industry, all players know the question is not whether the mandatory weight verification should be enforced, but how.

   Please feel free to contact me directly or leave a comment.

   For more information on this solution please click here

   For a copy of the Guidelines for improving safety and implementing the SOLAS Container Weight Verification Requirements click here