KARACHI: The Ministry of Ports & Shipping has notified guidelines for the implementation of the mandatory amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which takes effect from July 01, 2016.

It places a requirement on the shipper of packed containers to verify and provide the container’s gross mass to the carrier and terminal representative prior to it being loaded onto a ship.

Following concerns raised by the shipping industry regarding the mis-declaration of the declared gross mass of packed containers, SOLAS Chapter VI Regulation 2 has been amended by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

According to the guidelines of Ministry of Ports & Shipping, the responsibility for obtaining and documenting the verified gross mass of a packed container lies with the shipper.

A container packed with packages and cargo items should not be loaded onto a ship to which the SOLAS regulations apply unless the master or his representative and the terminal representative have been provided with, in advance of vessel loading, the verified actual gross mass of the container.

The purpose of this SOLAS regulation is to obtain an accurate gross mass of packed containers that are moved through the supply chain prior to loading aboard the ship.

The SOLAS regulations prescribe two methods by which the shipper may obtain the verified gross mass of a packed container; (Method-I) weighing the packed container using calibrated and certified weighing equipment (e.g. weighbridges, load cell sensing technologies etc) and; (Method-II) weighing all packages and cargo items, including the mass of pallets, dunnage and other securing material to be packed in the container and adding the tare mass of the container to the sum of the single masses, using a certified method approved by the Pakistan competent authority, that is the Directorate General Ports & Shipping or its authorized body.

In order to use ‘Method 2’ SOLAS requires that the Administration of Country, DGP&S in case Pakistan, has to approve the certified method used by that shipper.

Recognizing that shippers use differing methods of work and management systems the routes to obtaining approval are:-

  1. Businesses holding an accredited Quality Management System (such as ISO 9001 or ISO 28000), which include documented procedures to satisfy the weighing requirement, will be deemed to have demonstrated their competence to use Method 2. The shipper will be required to submit the relevant procedures along with a copy of the any certificates to the DGP&S.
  2. Companies not accredited to the above but operating a company management system can be approved by the DGP&S, after checking electronic or documentary submissions.
  3. Other auditing schemes as approved by the Federal Government of Pakistan.

Companies which successfully become authorized to use Method 2 will be registered to view data on-line, overseen by the DGP&S. The database will be accessible to approved shippers and to both carriers (shipping lines) and port/terminal operators in order that, if they wish to or suspect a discrepancy exists, it may be confirmed, that particular containers are being presented by companies certified under Method 2, as required,.

It should be noted that certain types of cargo items (e.g. scrap metal, unbagged grain, and other cargo in bulk) do not easily lend themselves to individual weighing of the items to be packed in the container. In such cases, the usage of Method 2 would be inappropriate and impractical, and Method 1 should be used instead.

The SOLAS text is clear in assigning shippers’ and carriers’ responsibilities and the role of the terminal. The shipper or their agent is responsible for providing a ‘verified gross mass’ to the carrier or their terminal representative, regardless of who actually packs the container.

A container with a gross mass exceeding its maximum permitted gross mass shall not be loaded onto a ship.

Under SOLAS, no container without a verified gross mass may be loaded onto a ship. It is for individual carriers and port operators to devise operational procedures to ensure that this regulatory requirement is complied with on all occasions.