By Paul Benfer –
The new SOLAS requirements will help improve safety for all involved in the physical movement of containers. That is a good thing. What you should be on guard for are mistakes in listing weight on your paperwork that can lead to extra added costs.
We recently experienced a situation where the tare weight and commodity weight were combined on the delivery order. By placing total weight only on the order, our customer opened themselves up to additional costs and potential local law enforcement issues. Tri-axle fees are expensive, along with the costs of litigating tickets and fines. Our client immediately contacted the person responsible for SOLAS compliance to insure that all paperwork provided tare and commodity weights, along with total weight.