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Box weighing at terminals more an asset than liability, says TT Club

MARITIME insurer TT Club says container weighing will become a commercial advantage for ports that offer it, and will not slow operations as frequently stated by opponents.

Responding to new container weight-verification requirements, risk TT Club managing director Peregrine Storrs-Fox said the technology to weigh containers quickly at ports, such as twistlock load sensors, already exists.

He said ports able to verify container weights could attract shipping lines seeking to ensure that container stacks are not top heavy, or exceed the limits of container strength, as well as improving vessel stowage.

This advanced verification system not only measures quickly the weight of a container, but also alerts supply chain participants if the load distribution is not even.

The box can then be pulled out and repacked, or the carrier notified about the problem, reported Lloyd's List. Mr Storrs-Fox said within a decade it will become a necessity to weigh containers.

Containers ought not be loaded if they are overweight. Many ports already have systems such as weigh-bridges in place to identify overweight boxes, he said.

The European Sea Ports Organisation voiced its support for an agreement that all containers should be weighed, but warned that the process must not disrupt terminal operations.

Under the new rule, the packer and shipper must accurately determine the gross mass of the container.

Mr Storrs-Fox agreed that weight verification should take place early in the supply chain, but he also sees no reason why it cannot take place again at a later stage, to ensure that the weight has not changed.

The new regulations were approved by the UN's International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) maritime safety committee in mid-May, and the changes to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention are due to enter into force in July 2016.