Further progress towards mandatory weighing of containers

The issue of mandatory weighing of containers at port of departure was high on the agenda at the 89th meeting of the International Maritime Organisation last week. The IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee agreed to a proposal made by the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia to establish a new work item to address the issue of incorrectly declared containerised cargo shipments and to undertake other measures to improve the safety of container stowage and ship operations. In December last year the World Shipping Council and the International Chamber of Shipping jointly urged the IMO to establish an international legal requirement that all loaded containers be weighed at the marine port facility before stowage aboard a vessel for export. There is general consensus that the problem of misdeclaration will not be solved until there is a legal requirement to verify container weights before the boxes are loaded onto ships. “In those countries that require loaded containers to be weighed before vessel stowage for export, the evidence overwhelmingly indicates that operations can proceed very efficiently without any disruption to commerce,” an IMO spokesman said. This latest development is good news, but a legal framework will take some years to implement, according to industry sources. And while several lines have penalties in place for misdeclaration of weights, their application is not straightforward. As Iain McIntosh, GM sales and marketing at MOL South Africa, told FTW earlier this year: “The most well-intentioned carriers will always be undermined in application by someone more unscrupulous, which is why few lines are penalising shippers when the chips are down because of the commercial impact.” Overweight containers not only create safety concerns for the ship, its crew, other cargo on board, and the workers in the port facilities handling the container, but incorrectly declared weights – both over and significantly below the limits declared – also lead to incorrect stowage and planning.