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Solving the Problem of Overweight Containers

Published Jan 26, 2011 9:15 AM by The Maritime Executive

In December, the World Shipping Council and the International Chamber of Shipping urged the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish an international legal requirement that all loaded containers be weighed at the marine port facility before they are stowed aboard a vessel for export.

The following statement explains the nature of the problem with overweight containers, the efforts that have been taken to date to address the issue, and the reason that the industry is calling for a strong international solution to the problem from the IMO.

Background

The issue of overweight containers has been a subject of industry, insurance, and at times government, concern over the years, and has from time-to-time become an issue of concern to the general public after incidents involving overweight boxes.

Most recently, the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands has concluded a joint industry-government research project about cargo securing, including collapsing container stacks, and included in its recommendations a call for compulsory weighing of containers prior to vessel loading.

The conclusions and recommendations from the research project (“Lashing@Sea”) were recently reviewed at the 15th meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers Subcommittee. The Subcommittee agreed that, in the interest of safety, there is a need to consider ways and means to ensure that the correct weight of the containers is declared to the carrier and communicated to the ship’s master in order to allow for correct and well-informed handling and stowage. The Subcommittee then invited Member Governments and international organizations to submit further information to the Committee for appropriate action’s and ICS on Solving the Problem of Overweight Containers

The Problem

There is no available data that reliably indicates how many containers are overweight; however, the problem is significant, and arises in almost every trade to some extent. In some geographic trade lanes, the problem is common and, at times, rampant. Shipping lines have reported that in severe cases, the overweight or incorrectly declared weights reaches 10% of the total cargo on board a vessel. Some carriers report that it is not uncommon for actual total cargo weight aboard ship to be 3-7% greater than the declared weight.

The problems resulting from overweight containers include the following:

  • Incorrect vessel stowage decisions
  • Restowage of containers (and resulting delays and costs), if the overweight condition is ascertained
  • Collapsed container stacks
  • Containers lost overboard (both the overweights and containers that were not
    overweight)
  • Cargo liability claims
  • Chassis damage
  • Damage to ships
  • Stability and stress risks for ships
  • Risk of personal injury or death to seafarers and shoreside workers
  • Impairment of service schedule integrity
  • Supply chain service delays for shippers of properly declared containers
  • Last minute shut-outs of confirmed, booked and available loads when the actual weight on board exceeds what is declared, and the total cargo weight exceeds the vessel limit or port draft limit.
  • Lost revenue and earnings
  • Liability for accidents and fines for overweights on roads, and resulting time and administrative efforts and costs to seek reimbursement from responsible parties
  • Impairment of vessels’ optimal trim and draft, thus causing impaired vessel efficiency, suboptimal fuel usage, and greater vessel air emissions.


There are varying contexts or definitions of “overweight”. A loaded container can exceed road weight limits, rail weight limits, crane lifting limits, container carrying capacity limits, or its weight as declared by the shipper. Each of these overweight situations presents operational and safety problems. The most common overweight situation is when the actual container weight exceeds the shipper’s declared weight. Having the actual weight of a container would enable a carrier and a terminal operator to knowledgeably address all the various container weight issues and requirements.

For example, Shanghai and Shenzhen municipal governments in the People’s Republic of China have recently undertaken tougher new penalties for containers that exceed road weight limits, subjecting ocean carriers, drivers and cargo owners to expanded potential penalties. WSC and ICS on Solving the Problem of Overweight Containers

In short, overweight containers can and do present a risk to industry workers, to ships, to equipment, to operational reliability, to shippers of accurately declared shipments, to higher operating costs, to road safety problems, to higher liability claims, and to higher administrative costs.

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PHOTO: A container ship loading freight at the Mundra Port in India.