On the 1 July the new SOLAS container verified gross mass (VGM) regulations became mandatory. To assist with this new requirement, Strainstall, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, launched a white paper to assist those affected by the new rules in carting a pathway to compliance, clarifying the technical and commercial options and presenting a cost-effective, robust and accurate solution.

Strainstall has published a white paper outlining the pitfalls, options and opportunities of compliance for the world’s ports, terminals and cargo handling industries.

As the paper sets-out, while the shipper is ultimately responsible for VGM declaration, ports and terminals are the natural environment for container VGM solutions to be implemented, as packed containers are processed as part of normal operations.

Though the shipper is responsible for declaring the packed container weight, a failure to do so will be disruptive and costly to operations, while the provision of this service by the ports and terminals will provide a very clear opportunity to provide an additional added value commercial service.

The paper describes a range of viable solutions that are available for cost-effective retrofit integration on existing assets, including the full range of container handling equipment, from reach stackers, RTGs and straddle carriers.

While the precise nature of VGM equipment and certification requirements are still to be fully defined and may well vary between jurisdictions, the paper describes Strainstall’s accuracy-led approach, focused on what the company believes to be the most likely worst case scenario for implementation. This provides the opportunity for those port and terminal operators who wish to do so, to gain a level of first mover advantage.