The new rules designed to prevent accidents caused by overloaded containers went live on 1 July.
The
International Maritime Organisations Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention now
state that all containers must be weighed before embarkation.
Whilst
some weighing is being done at the ports; some have axle weighing systems,
others have weighing equipment built into the dock loaders, finding that your
container is overloaded when you get to the port might be too late and present
problems.
The
Regulations do in fact state that the weight must be presented to the Master of
the vessel in sufficient time for a stowage plan to be prepared. There are
contingencies for obtaining the weight when a container arrives at the port
without it but there could be costs attached to the shipper if the port have to
do the weighing.
Customers
have approached us about weighing containers before they leave their sites
using our dynamic axle weighbridge. We advise them that it is perfectly feasible
and existing systems can even have a minor software modification to allow the
entry of additional information such as container number.
Axtec Dynamic Axle Weighbridges used for container weighing |
The
largest trucks can be weighed in around 40 seconds and accuracy of 0.5% is
achievable with the right installation. Two-way operation is also possible
which means that the tare weight of a truck can be obtained prior to the
container being loaded onto the trailer as well.
The
consequences of a vessel being overloaded can be catastrophic. With an
incorrect centre of gravity, containers can fall overboard and be lost forever.
The paperwork in making an insurance claim would almost certainly be time
consuming and tedious but the loss of a shipment means customers not having
their orders fulfilled.
But
that’s the least worst outcome. A stack of containers collapsing whilst a ship
is at sea could have extremely serious consequences and it has even been known
for a ship to break its back due to severe overloading.
The
Safety Of Life At Sea regulations mean exactly that and preventing overload
containers from getting onboard makes perfect sense.
For
the transport operator, obtaining the weight of containers prior to shipping by
investing in their own weighing facility also makes perfect sense. It’s a
one-off cost which is then available for evermore and will minimise delays at
the port and the cost of having them obtain the weight for you.
And
the added benefit of ensuring your vehicles are not overloaded when they leave
your yard and go out on the road is almost a side issue, albeit a very
important one.
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