News
China’s Ministry of Transport has announced guidelines for the implementation of the amendment to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 known as SOLAS Amendments.
The amendment requires shippers to verify the gross mass of all loaded containers before loading onto vessels, effective July 1, 2016. Shippers mean those described as a shipper on a master bill of lading (B/L) issued by a shipping company.
Methods for obtaining the verified gross mass (VGM) of a packed container are much the same as in Japan: (1) The shipper may use certified equipment to weigh the entire packed container; or (2) The shipper may weigh all packages and cargo items, including the mass of pallets, dunnage and other packing and securing material to be packed in the container, and add the tare mass of the container to the sum of the single masses using a certified method recognized by the loading country’s enforcement agency.
Any discrepancy between the VGM declared by the shipper and the VGM obtained by marine agencies, carriers or terminal operators must be within plus or minus 5% or 1 ton, whichever the smaller value will apply.
