The World Shipping Council and International Chamber of Shipping are calling for international regulations to require all loaded containers to be weighed at the marine terminal before they are stowed aboard a vessel for export.
The Washington-based WSC, which represents container lines, and the Paris-based ICS, which represents shipowners of all kinds, said they will ask the International Maritime Organization's safety committee to consider such a rule at its next meeting in May.
Overweight boxes have been repeatedly cited as a safety hazard. The Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands recently recommended mandatory weighing. The recommendation came after a government-industry study of cargo securing, including collapsing container stacks.
