VGM: the weight declaration that can stop your container being loaded

The SOLAS amendment requiring verified gross mass has been in force since 2016, and it remains one of the most common reasons a booked container misses its ship.

What VGM covers

It is the weight of everything: cargo, pallets, dunnage, securing materials and the tare weight of the container. Not just the cargo. People declaring cargo weight alone under declare by two to four tonnes and do not realise until a terminal rejects the figure.

The two permitted methods

Method one weighs the packed, sealed container on calibrated equipment. Simple and definitive.

Method two weighs each item, adds the packaging and dunnage, and adds the container tare from the door plate. It requires a documented and approved procedure, which is why smaller shippers usually use method one.

See it on your own shipment

Paste a container number, bill of lading or booking reference. We detect the carrier across 170+ shipping lines, and when the data does not line up, a person checks it.

What happens if it is late

The terminal will not load the container. It sits, the vessel sails, and you now have a rolled container plus storage charges for a piece of missing paperwork. There is no grace period in practice.

Submit VGM at the same time you submit shipping instructions. Treating it as a separate later task is how it gets forgotten.

Questions people ask

Can the forwarder submit VGM for me?

They can transmit it, but legal responsibility stays with the named shipper.

How much tolerance is allowed?

Typically a small percentage set nationally, often around five percent. Do not treat it as room to estimate.