New SOLAS regulations to take effect on 01.07.2016

Effective 01.07.2016 the amendment to regulation 2 of SOLAS chapter VI, Part A requires all shippers to obtain and submit the VGM (verified gross mass) to the terminals and/or the carriers.

The party responsible to submit the VGM to the carrier, is the company or person indicated as “Shipper” on the bill of lading. If a shipper does not submit the VGM to the carrier on time, the terminal representative will not load the containers on board of the vessel.

The new regulation provides two means to assess the VGM:

Physical weighing of the loaded container by means of calibrated and certified equipment, or
Weighing and adding all contents of the container (i.e. cargo, packaging, dunnage, etc.) to the tare weight of the container using a documented process which meets the requirements of the state where the last contents were packed in the container.
We are currently in contact with our principals, PIL, Grimaldi, WEC Lines, Tarros and Sarjak, to establish how and at which stage they wish to receive the VGM related data. Meanwhile, we recommend that our esteemed customers, establish means to obtain the VGM for their containers.

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Find below the actual wording of the relevant regulation:
SOLAS_CHAPTER_VI_Regulation_2_Paragraphs_4-6