14.5 C
Hamburg
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Home Most Visited - Newsletter Beijing throws its weight behind VGM regulations

Beijing throws its weight behind VGM regulations

China’s Ministry of Transport has issued a directive that effective 1 June 2020, no overweight containers can be loaded on ships in the country’s ports.

The ministry said that as container shipping is increasingly being used to move goods, there is a need to step up safety measures.

Overweight containers have cost the industry over US$6 billion, as reported by Container News earlier this month in the Cargo Integrity Campaign and could cause serious injury to crew and others.

Meanwhile, airlines have slashed flights in response to depressed demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic. However, e-commerce sales have increased due to lockdowns and the closure of retail stores in many countries. China, especially, which has many e-retailers, is still seeing healthy demand for the transportation of goods. Its postal services have therefore turned to container shipping as a substitute for air freight.

The transport ministry said, “With the continuous development of China’s economy and society, container transportation has become important for international shipping. Overloaded containers and inaccurate weight declarations occur from time to time, posing a threat to human life and property.”

In addition, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has increased the requirements for container weight verification in the form of international conventions and amendments.

In July 2016, the IMO amended the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) code which requires all containers that leave from any port worldwide to have a verified gross mass (VGM) before being loaded onto ships.

The principle is that the weights of loaded containers should not exceed the prescribed limits for the slots in which they are stowed. These limits should be set according to stack weight, tier position and the securing arrangement being used.

The UK P&I Club estimates that as many as 20% of transported containers are overweight or mis-declared.

Martina Li
Asia Correspondent





Latest Posts

ORBCOMM unveils new container visibility tool

ORBCOMM has announced the launch of CrewView, an onboard visibility solution designed to give vessel crews real-time access to data from smart refrigerated and...

SAAM-Enap partnership: Latin America’s first electric tug en route to Chile

Latin America’s first fully electric tugboat has officially set sail from Tuzla, Turkey, on a 45-day journey to Puerto Montt, Chile. From there, it will...

Singapore and France sign enhanced maritime partnership agreement

French Minister for Transport Philippe Tabarot and Singapore’s Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow signed an Enhanced...

CMA CGM, DP World Ramp Up Investment Amid Global Trade Turbulence

As global trade fragments under the weight of geopolitical tensions, French shipping group CMA CGM and UAE-based logistics company DP World are positioning themselves...

AD Ports establishes Tbilisi Intermodal Hub in Georgia

AD Ports Group has announced the inauguration of the first phase of Tbilisi Intermodal Hub, Georgia's first modern, bonded container and intermodal terminal, and...
error: Content is protected !!