Law Requiring Mandatory Weighing News

The ITF is calling on governments and industry bodies to back a proposed amendment that will tackle the dangers posed by unweighed or mis-declared shipping containers. The amendment – to the existing Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) – will be tabled at the present meeting of the IMO (International Maritime Organization) sub–committee on dangerous goods, solid cargoes and containers.The meeting will decide if the weighing of packed shipping containers will be made mandatory. The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) has been lobbying for nearly a decade for a compulsory international system of container weighing to be introduced in ports. Currently there is a reliance on self regulation by shippers.