SOLAS Regulation – Verified Gross Mass (VGM)

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) amended the SOLAS – Safety of Life at Sea, in order to ensure the safety of the ship, the workers and cargo. It established that packed container’s gross mass must be verified prior to stowage aboard ship. The shipper/exporter is responsible for the verification of the container gross mass and is also responsible that it will be showed in the shipping documentations sufficiently in advance to be used by the ship’s master and the terminal representative in the preparation of the ship stowage plan.
This requirement will have legal effect as of 1 July 2016.
The pourpose of the resolution is the “Verify Gross Mass” that is, the load weight including the tare weight of the container carrying it (container is any type of equipment).

The SOLAS Regulations provide two methods by which the shipper/exporter may obtain the verified gross mass of a packed container:
Method 1: Weigh the container loaded.
The shipper/exporter after loading and sealed the container, after weighed it (also from third party) with standard precision instruments, He must provide the proof of weighing to Shipping Company.
Method 2: Weigh of all items going in the container.
The shipper/exporter must send a formal declaration to the Carrier, which certify the total weight of the goods (complete with packaging, pallets and lashing material) and by adding the tare of the Container as reported in weights panel of the same container.