A number of prominent members of the maritime industry have proposed a set of new laws to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that would make it mandatory for containers to be weighed before being loaded onto a cargo ship.
The proposed legislation, which was submitted to the IMO on June 20, will be applicable for both containers waiting at port and those already loaded on the ship.
The parties that proposed the legislation argue that current regulations for the overloading of ships are inadequate, and that the weights of cargo ships should be more tightly controlled. Currently, regulations on the weight of containers are laid out in the International Convention for the Safety of Life of Seas, which states that a person who loads a container with cargo should provide an accurate estimation of the weight of the loaded container. However this regulation is poorly regulated, leading to ships that are often overweight.
The sponsors of the suggestion include a number of prominent maritime organizations in several different countries including the United States, Denmark and the Netherlands. In the proposed bill, the supporters claimed that shipping officials provide inadequate estimates of the weight of their containers and often exceed recommended maximum weights.
Overloading of ships creates a hazardous situation in which maritime workers are exposed to a greater risk of serious injury and death. Containers that are overloaded can cause crane cables to snap, and excess cargo inside a container can topple, with a risk of damage to port infrastructure as well as human life.
The recommended bill that has been proposed to prevent this situation will require all cargo shippers to provide confirmed weight declaration certificates stating the exact weight of each container. Before containers can be loaded onto the ship, port authorities will have to confirm the weight declarations by weighing the containers themselves. The proposers of the legislation believe that only a legal requirement such as this one will ensure that cargo ships do not leave the cargo overloaded.
If the bill is implemented, it is expected that countless deaths and injuries of maritime workers could be prevented. The sponsors of the bill hope that the maritime industry at large will see the benefit of such legislation and work together to reduce the dangers of offshore employment. It remains to be seen whether the industry will accept the proposed bill, but with such a range of powerful backers, it seems likely that the legislation will be passed.
