COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) terminals have become compliant with a new international rule that requires mandatory verification of the weight of containers before being loaded on ships. “Cargo information regarding a mandatory container gross mass verification has been implemented in Sri Lankan ports from 01st July 2016,” the SLPA said in a statement.
The Merchant Shipping Secretariat recently conducted several meetings with related stakeholders in order to finalize an agreeable system for verifying container weight with the shipping industry. An agreed Merchant Shipping Notice (MSN ) has been issued to introduce the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention regulation on cargo information regarding mandatory container gross mass verification, the SLPA said.
The MSN gives detailed guidance for Sri Lankan shippers, terminals and ports and carriers on implementing the SOLAS provisions. The statement said it would be a violation of SOLAS to load a packed container onto a vessel if the vessel operator and marine terminal operator do not have a verified container weight.
“To ensure compliance with these SOLAS provisions, participants within the supply chain should agree amongst themselves the processes necessary to ensure that the weights are available prior to the packed container being loaded aboard the ship,” the MSN states. The guidelines were drafted following discussions between the relevant Sri Lankan trade bodies together with the SLPA, South Asia Gateway Terminals Pvt. Ltd, Colombo International Container Terminals Pvt. Ltd. and Merchant Shipping Secretariat.
