The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), as amended, requires that a packed containers’ gross mass is verified prior to stowage aboard ship.

The shipper is responsible for ensuring this. Failure to provide this information may result in the master of the vessel refusing to load the container onboard. The IMO guidelines regarding the Verified Gross Mass of Container Carrying Cargo (MSC.1/Circ.1475) details two methods for calculating the verified gross mass of a packed container:

• Method 1: Upon the conclusion of packing and sealing a container, the shipper may weigh or have arranged that a third party weighs, the packed container.

• Method 2: The shipper may weigh all packages and cargo items, including the mass of pallets, dunnage and other packing and securing material to be packed in the container, and add the tare mass of the container to the sum of the single masses using a certified method.

The method used for weighing the container’s contents under method 2, is subject to certification and approval as determined by the competent authority of the State in which the packing and sealing of the container was completed.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), is the competent authority responsible for certifying and approving the method used for weighing the container and contents under method 2. The above requirements are expected to come into effect on 1st July 2016. SAMSA will be hosting a workshop to inform the maritime industry of:

• The requirements of the SOLAS amendments regarding the verified mass of a packed container
• SAMSA’s intention to outsource the certification and approval process to a third party, for shippers using Method 2

The workshop will be held as follows:

Date: 9th November 2015
Time: 10h00 to 12h00
Venue: 17th Floor, Durban Bay House, Anton Lembede Street, Durban
RSVP: Kirsty Goodwin: kgoodwin@samsa.org.za or 031 307 3006