Who is Ready for SOLAS VGM?
What is SOLAS VGM?
SOLAS – Safety of Life at Sea. The SOLAS Convention’s Verified Gross Mass (SOLAS VGM)
VGM – Verified Gross Mass of a container carrying cargo or also called container weight mandate – mandating the verification of container weight prior to shipping. Effective July 1, 2016, containers must have verified weight documents if they are to be loaded onto a ship.
Here are two options to meet the regulations:
- The first is to weigh a container on a truck as it passes over a weigh station, subtracting the weight of the truck, chassis and fuel to determine the weight of the loaded container.
- The second is to weigh each item going into a container and add the sum of all the goods loaded to the tare weight of the container.
The necessary documentation must be provided to the terminal and carrier along with the container, or it will not be loaded on the ship.
See blog post: How to Meet the SOLAS Container Weight Mandate
There are still many uncertainties:
- Countries’ implementation guidelines
- VGM cutoff times
- How potential delays may impact performance.
From CargoSmart:
CargoSmart has been compiling the SOLAS implementation information from the industry and official announcements to help relevant parties prepare for compliance. Only 11 of the 171 Member States of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have published guidelines. Below shows the country implementation status as of April 15, 2016.
>We will continue to update our news/blog with more information on the SOLAS container weight mandate.
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