DP World’s global terminals will have certified container weighing capabilities if permitted under the locally adapted implementation of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulation.
Comprehensive weighing services will be offered for exporters to determine the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of each container so that they comply with the new legislation.
The objective is to prevent serious accidents at sea where a ship’s stability is compromised by wrongly declared cargo weight.
This follows a recent announcement that DP World Southampton had placed a major order for a container weighing solution from Strainstall, making it the first major commitment by a global container terminal.
Technical Paper: Container Weighing Explained
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “All our terminals will be ready to meet the obligations under the legislation by July 1, [2016] and each one will have certified weighing solutions in place to serve exporters in the IMO member states where we operate.
“As an enabler of global trade, DP World is offering customers an efficient solution for this new mandatory international regulation. Safety of a container at sea means security and peace of mind for the shipper.”
Technical Paper: DP World's T4 Container Terminal in Jebel Ali
The new regulation mandates that shippers of goods must obtain the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of laden export containers and communicate it to ocean carriers sufficiently in advance of the ship stowage planning.
Ocean carriers and container terminal operators will be legally obliged to ensure that containers without a VGM are not loaded on to a ship in all 162 IMO member states that are required to enforce the new law.
Fact File: DP World handled 61.7 million TEU across its global portfolio of container terminals during 2015, with gross container volumes growing by 3.0%. It has a portfolio of 77 marine and inland terminals in 40 countries across six continents with a significant presence in both high-growth and mature markets.
