SOLAS
CERTIFICATION

Internationally, all maritime activities are controlled under the Convention of the Safety Of Live At Sea regulation by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

In South Africa, SOLAS is governed by SAMSA (South African Maritime Safety Authority). SOLAS has been amended with the inclusion of the Verified Gross Mass, which stipulates that the container weight must be confirmed prior to container sailing.

Container weight can be achieved using one of two methods:

• Weight verification method 1: weighing the packed container using calibrated and certified equipment; or
• Weight verification method 2: weighing all packages and cargo items, including packing materials and the tare weight of the container, then adding the sum of all weights together to provide a verified weight.

SACO in South Africa, as of the 10th May 2016, was the first company in South Africa to be approved by SAMSA to use Method 2 to verify the gross mass of export containers.

All containers packed, LCL or FCL, by SACO in South Africa depots, adhere to the SOLAS VGM requirements. SACO in South Africa is approved nationally: Cape Town, Durban, Coega (Gqeberha), and Johannesburg.