Port of Rotterdam bans against container lashing when underway

Inspections will be carried out to ensure that container lashings are not being removed or applied while the vessel is underway.

A statement from the Port of Rotterdam:

“Investigations revealed that crew members of some vessels which are proceeding in the harbour area of the port of Rotterdam are involved with removing or applying of container lashings while underway. This is an unwanted development, as applying or removing of lashings while the vessel is underway is a very unsafe operation. To prevent accidents during these operations, a total ban on the previous mentioned operations is enforced for seagoing vessels which are present in the harbour basins and fairways in the port of Rotterdam.”

The port authority’s regulations on container lashing were adopted in April 2021, however, inspections and enforcement only took effect on 1 September. Correspondents Dutch P&I have reported that these inspections will concentrate mainly on container vessels with a length of less than 170m.

Furthermore, the regulations require that for vessels with a length greater than 170m, container lashing can only be carried out by a licensed company.

The Port Authority can issue fines for violations; however, the scale of such fines is currently unknown.

For further details on the regulation, see:

https://www.portofrotterdam.com/en/news-and-press-releases/checks-on-lashing-at-sea-from-1-september

https://lokaleregelgeving.overheid.nl/CVDR636205  (article 11.4.1 and 11.4.1a)

Our thanks to Dutch P&I for this notification.

Find out more about container lashing in our quick reference guide for container ships: Box Clever: Lashing it Down