100% Secure delivery without contacting the courier

1800 357 315

Call our Toll Free Number

  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Products
  4. >
  5. Safety Of Life At...

Safety Of Life At Sea Scale (SOLAS/AMSA) Testing by Instant Weighing

by | Jul 19, 2021 | Products | 0 comments

Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) is the International body that sets the international rules for the safety of persons at sea. The Australian Federal Department called the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) interrupts the SOLAS legislation as it will be applicable to Australia and overseas these laws.

As from 1/7/2016 SOLAS and AMSA changed the way that an export sea container VGM weight is to be determined. AMSA has determined that any scale can be used to determine the VGM weight of an export sea container, but before that scale can initially be used, it must be tested to the OMIL/NMI set of tests applicable for that type/capacity scale, and that verified test masses must also be used for the testing.

The new SOLAS/AMSA rules also sets out two ways that the VGM weight of an export sea container can be determined.

Method 1. Weighing the loaded container as one complete unit.

Scales suitable to achieve this type of weighing are weighbridges, straddle carriers scales, side lifters fitted with scales, scales installed onto reach stackers, very large capacity forklifts fitted with scales, scales built into a frame that the sea container sits on whilst being loaded and scale jacks.

Method 2. Weighing everything being loaded into the sea container.

Weighing everything being loaded into the sea container (including tie downs and packaging) close the doors and the combined weight of all placed into the sea container is added to the tare weight as marked on the side of the sea container. This new figure is the total VGM weight for that sea container.

Weighing Scales suitable to achieve this type of weighing are large, medium and small capacity platform scales, forklift scales (analogue, digital and load cell).

Instant Weighing has both the licensed scale technicians and the verified test massed including flat-rack to be able to test all these different types of scales from the small platform scale to the very large weighbridges. Instant Weighing’s speciality is scales on forklifts of all sizes, reach stackers, straddle carriers, and sidelifters.

Our written scale test reports have been submitted to AMSA as part of a company submissions following the company being audited by AMSA and these scale test reports have been accepted and approved by AMSA.

Call Instant Weighing today to solve your SOLAS/AMSA weighing challenges using scales to determine an export sea container VGM weight. We work from Broome to Esperance.