There has been a lot of confusion over what the changes to SOLAS, effective 1st July 2016, mean.
What the requirements are, now.
Before a packed container can be loaded onto a ship, its weight must be determined through weighing. It is a violation of SOLAS regulations to load a packed container aboard a vessel to which SOLAS applies, without a proper weight verification. There is no exception to this requirement.
What will change, in the revised SOLAS.
The major changes are a clarification that the onus of declaring an accurate gross container & contents weight is on the Shipper, setting out the acceptable methods of obtaining this weight, and defining the accuracy standards that are required for this weight.
The two acceptable methods for obtaining gross container & contents weight are:
Method 1: Loaded container to be weighed using equipment certified to OIML (International Organization of Legal Metrology) standards – ie: a public weighbridge.
Method 2: Weighing each item packed into the container, including pallets, dunnage (packing) and other securing material and adding the marked tare mass of the container. These weights must be obtained from equipment certified to OIML standards.
There is a partial exception to
Method 3: Individual original, sealed, items with their accurate gross weight marked on them may have this weight used as an alternative to weighing.
Dunnage and securing materials must still be weighed.
Estimating weight is not permitted.
In the case of an investigation, due to discrepancies in declared and observed weights, documented evidence of the method used to calculate the weight of the container, and the certification records of the equipment used to weigh the container.
The standard of accuracy required:
All items need to be weighed on equipment certified to OIML standards.
In most cases, the applicable standard would be OIML R76 – Static, Non-automatic weighing instruments
