Update on SOLAS Requirements for Container Weight Verification

摘要

An amendment to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, SOLAS Regulation Ⅵ/2, is mandatory beginning July 1, 2016 and requires verification by the shipper of a packed container's gross mass prior to stowage of the container aboard a vessel. The amendment was adopted at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee's 94th session (MSC 94) in November 2014. See Resolution MSC.380(94). The amendment to SOLAS Regulation Ⅵ/2 adds paragraphs 4,5 and 6 to the existing regulation, summarized as follows: 1. Under paragraph 4, the gross mass of a container must be verified by the shipper, either 1) by weighing the packed container using calibrated and certified equipment, or 2) by weighing all packages, dunning and other materials to be packed in the container and adding the tare mass of the container to the sum of the single masses, using a certified method approved by the competent authority of the State in which the container is packed. (Ⅵ/2.4)