Verified Gross Mass (VGM)

Verified gross mass (VGM) is the total weight of a packed container, obtained by one of two approved methods and declared to the carrier before the container is loaded on a ship. The requirement comes from amendments to SOLAS regulation VI/2 that entered into force on July 1, 2016. The IMO states the rule plainly: the verified gross mass is a condition for loading a packed container onto a ship.

The two methods

• Method 1: weigh the packed and sealed container
• Method 2: weigh all packages and cargo items, including pallets, dunnage and other securing material, and add the tare mass of the container, using a certified method approved by the competent authority of the country where the container was packed

The container's tare and maximum gross weight are stamped on its CSC safety-approval plate on the door.

Who is responsible

The shipper is responsible for providing the VGM in the shipping documents. SOLAS defines the shipper as the party named as shipper on the bill of lading, sea waybill or equivalent multimodal document, or the party that concluded the contract of carriage with the shipping line. On an FCL booking through a forwarder, the exporter supplies the weight and the forwarder passes it to the carrier. In an LCL consolidation, the shipper on the carrier's master bill is the consolidator, so every LCL shipper must give an accurate gross weight per piece in time for the consolidator to declare the container.

Timing and the VGM cut-off

The IMO requires the VGM sufficiently in advance to be used in the ship's stowage plan. Carriers turn that into a VGM cut-off on the booking confirmation, separate from the documentation and gate-in cut-offs. A container without a VGM is not loaded. The IMO guidelines allow the master or the terminal to obtain the VGM on the shipper's behalf, for example by weighing it at the terminal, but only under a commercial agreement between the parties, so do not count on it.

Common mistakes

• Declaring the packing-list net weight instead of the gross weight including pallets, dunnage and bracing
• Leaving out the container's tare under Method 2
• Sending the VGM after the cut-off, which can cost the booked vessel
• Planning to the ship's limit alone: in the US a truck may weigh no more than 80,000 pounds gross on the Interstate System (23 CFR 658.17), including the tractor, chassis and container, so a legal VGM can still be too heavy to truck

On Airlift FCL shipments the exporter supplies the weight and Airlift sends it to the carrier by the VGM cut-off; on LCL Airlift declares the consolidated container from the weights each shipper gives. The container dimensions page lists tare and payload by container type.