Rule
34-027
Schedule
8683
Subject
Container Weight Verification
Effective
October 1, 2020
Issued
October 1, 2020
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) amended the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) requires shippers to provide the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of export containerized cargo to the ocean carrier and port terminal representative prior to cargo loading a vessel. The Authority weighs all loaded export containers received through its truck gates and on-dock rail yards on state-certified scales and provides the weights directly to the ocean carriers. The United States Coast Guard declared that weights obtained through this procedure are equivalent to the VGM required by SOLAS. By shipping containerized cargo through the Authority’s terminal, shippers agree to and authorize use of the gate weights to satisfy their VGM obligations unless the shipper provides different weights directly to their ocean carriers. Use of the Authority’s gate weights and data are subject to the Authority’s indemnification and hold harmless provisions in Rule 34-075 of this schedule.