Vietnam to weigh up containers headed for foreign waters

By Dam Tuan May 31, 2016 | 12:59 am PT

From July 1, containers will be weighed before they are loaded onto ships to comply with new regulations. Photo by Reuters

Containers in Vietnam must be precisely weighed before they are transported by ship from July 1 to comply with new international regulations.

The Ministry of Transport has said the new regulation aims to ensure safe shipping. The circular will take effect on July 1, 2016, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s newspaper.

To comply with a new regulation issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that stipulates all containers need to be weighed before shipping from June 1, 2016, the Ministry of Transport has localized this regulation and instructed the Vietnam Maritime Administration to update this content with a new circular.

Compliance with the IMO regulation on container weight is compulsory for companies involved in international maritime transport.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong said that the new circular will comply with the IMO’s regulations and tighten the load capacity of containers leaving Vietnam’s ports to ensure safe shipping and infrastructure.

Vietnam first looked at controlling container weights in 2014 when the Ministry of Transport issued a regulation on container safety.