As of 1 July changes to the SOLAS regulations specify that export shipping containers can only be carried if their “verified gross mass” (VGM) is known to the shipping company. This means that an accurate VGM for each container must be supplied to the shipping company in good time so that a correct loading plan can be drawn up. If the VGM is not known then the container cannot be loaded. Responsibility for this lies with the shipper on the ocean B/L, but the latter can outsource the task of determining the weight and informing the shipping company to a third party. In the port of Antwerp it is possible to call on the more than 200 Antwerp-based forwarders for this.

Regarding the consequences of these changes to the SOLAS regulations, Trade Facilitation Coordinator Kristin van Kesteren-Stefan commented.

“Application of the SOLAS regulations is an important step towards safer container shipping. Accuracy in determining the VGM is given the highest priority, and we for our part do not permit any tolerance or error margin. Even the handling limit generally permitted in Belgium of 5% with respect to the actual weight does not make any difference to this.”

What about export containers without VGM in the port of Antwerp?

“A number of service providers offer public weighing facilities in the port of Antwerp. Export containers that arrive in the port without a known VGM can be weighed here before they go to the terminal so that the VGM can be passed on to the shipping company in good time.”