Calibrated Equipment News

Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited in its latest ship2shore Magazine takes a look at methods of weighing containers. Half a century after containerization first emerged to transform the world of shipping, a landmark new regulation is on the horizon. From 1 July 2016, an amendment to the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Convention will require every packed export container to have its weight verified before it is loaded on to a ship. The new regulation puts this responsibility firmly on the shipper – but how many shippers are actually ready for container weighing? The Freight Transport Association recently warned that shippers could fall foul of the new legislation after 1 July 2016 if they don’t put measures in place to verify the gross mass of their containers.

Martek Marine said that shipping companies are putting themselves at risk of facing corporate manslaughter charges if they do not carry an adequate number of maintained and certified gas detectors. European Marine Equipment Directive (MED) approval is a legal requirement for equipment aboard EU flagged vessels and a number of non-EU flag authorities who have also signed up to the protocol where oxygen or other flammable gas is potentially present. Martek Marine Sales Director Steve Coulson said, “The Marine Equipment Directive relates to all European flag vessels.