New I decree of the Body of the Harbour offices on the weighing of the container



Today the Body of the Harbour offices - Guard Costiera has emanated decrees managing with the scope to define some essential elements for the weighing of the container that they will on board embark of the ships that they land in the Italian ports. The main innovations will regard the location of the national standards of the instruments of weighing of the container, the necessity that in charge of the weighing (the so-called Shipper) is in possession of suitable certification and a possible tolerance on the eventual difference of weight between how much declared in the appropriate certifications (the so-called Shipping document) and assessed how much in phase of control by the staff of the Harbour offices.

The Body of the Harbour offices has specified that the new norm joins in a wider picture, started on July 1°, 2016, date of effectiveness of the modifications to Rule VI/2 of the International Convention for the Safeguard of Vita Umana in Sea "SOLAS 74, as amended", with which the necessity for the first time settles to assess the weight of every single boarded container. Necessity gushed from the various incidents that have involved in the international seas some portacontainer that, because of the wrong or excessive weight of the containers (not subject to the age to the weighing) and of the consequent one not corrected distribution inside of the ship, they have most serious problems of stability quickly, arriving in cases ends to the structural yielding of the hull and to the sinking, with huge risks and damages for the ship, the crew and for the marine atmosphere.

Remembering that in the track of such experiences and the international norms effectiveness the Body of the Harbour offices, in quality of competent authority for safety of navigation, already in 2016 had approved of first decrees managing face to supply the first technical instructions on the development of the weighing, the Body has specified that, after a transient period and of taken care of experimentation, it has been reached today to characterize in detailed way, thanks to the current one I decree and to an articulated consultation with the other interested administrations and the various subjects to involved miscellaneous title, all the technical elements in order to establish the real weight of containers and to afford to all the cycle ship, from the harbour terminalisti to the edge staff, to operate guaranteeing productivity and safety.