The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) introduced 2014 new obligations to provide Verified Gross Mass (VGM) data. The gross weight of each container loaded on board must now be verified on a certified (legal for trade) scale. This regulation applies globally.
Tamtron responded immediately to the new needs of the maritime transport industry with years of experience and extensive know-how by developing a certified system for weighing containers transported by Reach Stackers. The system was a smart modification of the well-known and proven for years solution applicable to Wheel Loaders.
The growing demand for VGM-certified weighing systems reflected also to other container handling machines and Tamtron developed in close co-operation with Cargotec a SOLAS compliant system for Straddle Carriers – Straddle Carrier Scale.
Mobile weighing system enhances safety at terminals for VADO
In May 2022, five such scales were installed, calibrated and certified on board KALMAR Straddle Carriers, produced by the global market leader Cargotec, at the Italian Vado Gateway S.p.A. sea container terminal. The terminal is owned by APM Terminals, a port operating company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, a unit of Danish shipping company Maersk’s Transport and Logistics division.
Tamtron, as an experienced manufacturer, made a turnkey delivery, installing the scales on site together with Kalmar Italy, and then performing calibration and verification of scales by own human resources having authorizations granted by the INSPECTA notified body.
Tamtron Power Straddle Carrier scales are connected to the factory Ethernet network and integrated into NAVIS TOS (Terminal Operating System). Thanks to Tamron weighing solution that enables measuring the VGM as part of the normal machine operations, all containers handled by Straddle Carriers with Tamtron scale on board can be immediately transferred to the system.
The biggest benefit of this mobile weighing system is safety, as unnecessary transportation to truck scales is avoided. Additionally the solution also leads to savings in fuel consumption and working time leading to lower amount of carbon emissions.
Tamtron scales, weighing data solutions as well as expertise contributed to the streamlining of daily operations and improved the work efficiency at the Vado Gateway S.p.A. sea container terminal.
The Tamtron reach stacker and straddle carrier scales are also available as an option in new Kalmar machines.
