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Pondus – Container Weight Safety and Compliance

Protect your operations from the hidden risks of misdeclared containers.

Pondus helps you comply with SOLAS, enhance safety, and generate revenue while improving transparency and control.

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Intro & Purpose

Protecting Shipping and Terminals from the Hidden Risks of Misdeclared Container Weights

Cindicium’s Pondus technology is an advanced container-weighing safety audit solution for verified gross mass (VGM) and is specifically designed to meet the demands of busy port environments. It combines cutting-edge design with cloud connectivity and AI-driven analytics, delivering high levels of accuracy essential for container weighing and tracking. Pondus is engineered to seamlessly integrate with existing port logistics, providing efficient, real-time data that enables better decision-making and improved operational flow. Pondus technology stands out for its precision and innovation, supporting ports worldwide in enhancing throughput and compliance with international standards.


Pondus offers a smarter way to identify and mitigate the impact of misdeclared container weights before they cause harm.

Why It Matters

The Real-World Impact of Misdeclared Containers

  •  Mis-declared containers are the leading cause of stack collapses on container ships
  • Safety risks to terminal staff and equipment
  • Costly operational disruptions for Liner Carriers
  • Significant Legal and insurance exposure
  • Road safety violations beyond the gate
  • Although SOLAS VGM was implemented 9 years ago a 1.5M TEU terminal will typically each year have around 45,000 mis-declared containers each of which represent a significant safety risk


visual:  image showing MOL container vessel breaking up in high seas 

What Pondus Does

Pondus vision


The vision of Pondus is to reduce hazards within the shipping industry, keeping overladen trucks off the roads and prevention of maritime casualties.


HOW IT WORKS


  • The shipping container is lowered onto the Pondus platform, which can rest on any firm surface.
  • ​In under 60 seconds, the platform lifts the container, weighs it accurately and lowers it, ready for removal. 
  • ​Pondus automatically and securely records and reports weight data through wireless broadband connection.
  • Accurate VGM and adherence to the SOLAS international requirements.

  • Pondus is provided free of charge to ports and logistics hubs, a simple pay-as-you-go model.
  • Overweight containers are detected through the TOS and sent to the PONDUS unit for verification and issuance of a new VGM.
  • Customer is then charged an overweight handling fee, the terminal operator keeps the majority of the fee.

ACCURATE

  • Certified OIML R76 Accuracy Class 3
  • Precise weight measured by certified load cells
  • Consistent calibration under the toughest conditions

Frequently Asked Questions

 The patented Cindicium Pondus weighing service is not a VGM service used by shippers at the time of stuffing the containers. It can best be compared with a safety audit service that is performed in container terminals where containers with high likelihood of being overweight are moved to Pondus weighing stand on the terminal for weighing. 

Cindicium’ s use of AI with telematics integration to the operating machinery in the terminal enables a pro-active safety approach by identifying high risk mis-declared containers:


1. Before being loaded on vessels

2. Before the import container is gated out

3. Before the transshipment container is loaded on 2nd carrier


For a 1.5M TEU terminal typically around 45,000 containers are found to be mis-declared in breach of the SOLAS VGM certificate for each container. This represents a significant safety risk for the vessels of Liner Carriers, and results in accidents in Container Terminals and on public roads. 

For these approx. 45,000 containers Terminals with Pondus deployed in their terminal typically will earn USD 4.5M per year in handling fees. 

 The Cindicium Pondus is a proven service and been deployed in operation for several years at five large container terminals in Australia. 

The use of the Cindicium Pondus weighing  unit in Terminals reduces the risk of potentially very serious safety   incidents with ships capsizing, container stack collapses caused by heavy   containers being stowed in top tiers and light containers being stowed in   bottom tiers due to incorrect misdeclared container weights. Here is a collection of accidents caused by mis-declared containers over the past 30 years: https://app.box.com/s/cpzbvlupvk99cx303u4l7v5v37u7uy4y

Based on data from the gate-in weighing   scales and from other handling equipment (RTGs, Straddles, Reachstackers etc)   Cindicium Pondus will be able to identify with high probability export   containers which are potentially overweight. 

After accurate weighing on the Pondus unit the terminal will be able to significantly reduce the risks of export   containers being loaded on the ship with incorrect weights. This is of   crucial importance for the safety of the ship and to minimize the risk of   stack collapse during rough seas. 

For import containers discharged in a   terminal where the Cindicium Pondus system is installed potentially   overweight import boxes are identified based on telematics data from STS   cranes, RTGs or straddle carriers. This will help to minimize the number of   accidents in terminals and on public roads when overweight containers are   transported 

 In Australia the level of mis-declared overweight containers varies from terminal to terminal, but  is in the range of 5% to 12% out of total throughput (import/exports and transshipment containers). Even after several years of using the Cindicium Pondus solution  the level of potentially overweight containers remains at the same approximate level. 

Yes, here is link to the full FAQ: https://app.box.com/s/ekifuldm7n9y9bzkkad7o59lmcb7ysgb

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