Vietnam Tightens Container-Weighing Rules

In a bid to tackle overweight containers at its ports, Vietnam is seeking to address this issue with domestic legislation on container weighing practices.

PTI previously reported that the International Maritime Organization had agreed on an amended rule which would see shipping containers being weighed before they are loaded onto ships – a rule which will come into effect in 2016.

Christian Ott, Vice President and Head of Claims at marine insurance company Skuld Singapore, has issued an advisory note after repeated claims that containers have been found to be overweight when presented for shipment, according to the Maritime-Executive.

Weighbridges have since been installed at Vietnamese ports, container yards and even highways to monitor weights of containers for both importing and exporting.

A new law was endorsed in 2014 by the Vietnamese government that limited the total weight of 20 and 40ft containers to a maximum of 20 tonnes, including the weight of the container itself.

Containers found to violate the weight limits are likely to incur a fine.

Vietnam Tightens Container-Weighing Rules. (Source: Port Strategy)