Combilift’s solution to the SOLAS legislation

Forthcoming changes to The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Safety Of Life At Sea, or SOLAS, legislation will have an impact on the containerisation industry as a whole.

The new regulations, in force from July 1st 2016, require all containers to have a verified gross mass (VGM) weight certificate before they can be loaded on a vessel. Responsibility for compliance will rest with the forwarder or shipper and failure to meet requirements could result in some heavy financial charges.  

Combilift has responded to the new regulations by offering a SOLAS compliant weight measurement system integrated into its Straddle Carriers. This offers numerous advantages over weighing systems currently on the market, which are either costly or involve time-consuming double handling. Compared with fixed weighbridges, systems fitted to reachstackers, I-forks or jacks, the Combilift “all-in-one” handling, weighing, transporting and storing procedure drastically reduces the number of weighing protocols and is the most cost effective system on the market today. 

The Straddle Carrier can weigh loads in real-time to an accuracy of +/- 1%, making it a mobile weighing system that requires just one lift to weigh the container before it can be positioned back onto the trailer. The stainless steel load measuring pins mounted at the front and rear of the Combi-SC can also check during weighing that the load is evenly distributed via the ruggedized cab mounted tablet, rated to IP67, for data storage. 

“This system will be an invaluable asset and will enable compliance with the new regulations in the most convenient, safe and economical manner,” said Combilift MD Martin McVicar. “Based on a business model of just 20 containers per day, 250 days per year – the Combilift solution can reduce the number of weighing procedures from 150,000 to just 5,000 per year.”