SOLAS Convention Container Weight Verification Requirements Arrive Sooner Than You Think

Beginning July 1, 2016, the SOLAS Convention will require the shipper of a packed export container to verify the container's weight before it is loaded aboard a ship.

In November 2014, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention. The amendments, which enter into force on July 1, 2016, will require a shipper of a packed container to verify the container's gross weight and provide the verified weight to the ocean carrier and port terminal representative before it is loaded onto a ship. Parties in the container supply chain should implement the necessary process and documentation changes now to ensure that they are in compliance with the new requirement when it becomes effective.