EU Shippers Demand Container Weighing Clarity

Due to the lack of information surrounding the imminent global container weighing rule, which will come into effect on July 1, 2016, European shippers are urging governments to clarify how shippers can meet the requirements of the International Maritime Organization’s new rule, according to the Journal of Commerce.

A policy still needs to be finalised by the US Coast Guard, with only a select few countries providing guidelines on how to abide by the container weighing mandate.

The UK has been cited as one of few countries that is helping shippers understand method two of the new rules, which requires shippers to weigh the contents of a shipping container separately from the container itself, before adding both sums together.

Read a Technical Paper by Lars Meurling on container weight verification

PTI previously reported that only 30% of cargo owners said they are ready for the change, calling for a digital solution for speeding up the process of verifying a container’s weight.

Despite issues relating to shipper-confusion on how to meet the IMO’s guidelines, a group of companies recently released an FAQ which sought to answer questions from shippers.

US Terminal operator Maher Terminals has recently backed the IMO’s container weighing rule after stating that it would only accept containers if their weight has been digitally declared via EDI transmission.

Strainstall has recently launched a solution which combines wireless data logging and load monitoring technology to more effectively handle weighing requirements.