Weighing containers: is it really that difficult?

News Release Dunelm Public Relations Ltd June 19, 2010

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A
conference to be held at the Hilton
London Canary Wharf Hotel
29 June
2010
 
 
Dunelm’s London press conference on the subject of
misdeclared container weights is less than two weeks away and late registrations
mean that several deepsea carriers including Maersk, MSC and ACL will now be
represented. 
 
The conference organisers believe that the carriers hold
the key to solving this problem of misdeclared containers. If they want
containers weighed, it is possible but at the moment, ports and terminals are
rarely asked to weigh boxes and even if they did, the carriers are not set up to
receive this data in a seamless way.
 
As speakers from insurance companies and marine
surveyors will explain, there are a number of important reasons why carriers
should be asking for export containers to be weighed prior to loading on board
vessels. These include:
 
-        
the risks to life and limb posed by misdeclared container weights with
stevedores and seafarers most vulnerable;
-        
the increased risk of on-deck container stack collapses when ship
planners are given incorrect box weight data;
-        
an increasing tendency for government agencies to demand recovery of
boxes that have gone over the side and to prosecute or fine those who pollute
their national shoreline;
-        
the high risks posed to feeder vessels as these ships are more vulnerable
than deepsea vessels when container stowage plans are flawed.
 
Steve Cameron, formerly Operations Director with a
shipping line engaged in the north-south trades where heavy containers
predominate, will point out, overweight containers can also be costly for
shipowners, especially if booked cargo has to be left behind due to the vessel
becoming unstable or being down to her marks with cargo still on the quay. Such
incidents can also lead to disputes between shipowners and
charterers.
 
Routinely weighing containers should also assist in
identifying containers carrying stolen or illegal cargoes. For example, stolen
cars are often shipped in 40ft containers said to contain used car parts but you
would expect the contents of such a container to weigh more than four to six
tonnes, which is about the weight of two upmarket saloon cars or 4x4s.

 
As for illegal cargoes, the authorities in
Belgium recently detained 33 containers loaded
with what was described as hazardous waste but not before another eight from a
total shipment of 41 containers were shipped out of Antwerp to Nigeria. Containing used refrigerators, TV sets, batteries and
compressors, these eight boxes all had to be returned to Belgium.

 
Such shipments are probably more commonplace than we think and bring the
shipping industry into disrepute. Environmental agencies admit they are only
scratching the surface at present. And to make it worse, we expect such shippers
to make honest declarations as to the weights of the containers they
ship!
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