Solas (Safety of Life at Sea) basic principles
- Before a packed container can be loaded onto a ship, its weight must be determined through weighing of the container or declaration by the loader of cargo weight determined by calibrated weighing equipment-A verified weight is a condition for loading a packed container onto a ship.
No verified weight means no load.
- Estimating weight is no longer acceptable.
- The Shipper on the Bill of Lading has the responsibility to forward the verified gross weight to the carrier or forwarder.
- Two permissible methods for weighing: -
Method 1: use a calibrated & certified weigh bridge -
Method 2: prove the weight by a certified calculation method: the weight of the cargo, other cargo items (pallets etc) and the tare weight of the container have to be declared.
- Margin of error with calculation method:
- For containers with a total weight up to 10.000 kilos, a margin of maximum 5OO kilos is allowed
- For containers with a total weight of more than 10.000 kilos, a maximum margin of 5% is allowed
Method 1 and method 2
In search of more information about method 1 and method : open this PDF.
Extended information
Looking for extended information SOLAS mandatory requirement
