Verified gross mass, declared before the cut-off.
VGM is captured against the container, validated by weighing method, and transmitted to the carrier and terminal ahead of the cut-off. A box approaching the deadline without a figure raises an exception, so the weight arrives before the loading list closes.
What VGM handling covers.
Both weighing methods
Weigh the packed container, or weigh the cargo and add the verified tare. The method used is recorded with the figure, so the declaration can be defended.
Cut-off held on the shipment
The carrier's VGM cut-off for the sailing sits on the container record, and a box approaching it without a figure raises an exception in time to act.
Validated against the booking
A declared weight that contradicts the cargo on the booking is questioned before it goes out, rather than being discovered as a discrepancy at the terminal.
Transmitted in the carrier's format
Sent over the same EDI, API, and web-service connections already used for booking, so no one logs into a separate carrier portal to type a number.
Declaration retained
Figure, method, declaring party, and timestamp are kept on the shipment, so a challenged weight is answered from the record.
A number chased at the cut-off.
VGM is often collected by email from the warehouse and typed into a carrier portal by whoever is free. Miss the cut-off and the container is rolled, the terminal charges storage, and the customer hears about a delay that had nothing to do with the vessel.
A figure the shipment asks for.
Freightgate holds the cut-off on the container, prompts for the weight against it, validates the figure, and transmits it in the carrier's format. The exception fires early enough to fix, so rolled boxes stop being a weekly event.
What shippers ask first.
What is SOLAS VGM?
Under the SOLAS convention, a packed container cannot be loaded aboard a vessel unless the shipper has provided a verified gross mass. VGM is the total weight of the cargo, packaging, dunnage, and the tare of the container itself, verified by an approved weighing method and submitted to the carrier and terminal before the cut-off.
Which weighing methods are supported?
Both recognised methods are supported: weighing the packed container, or weighing the cargo and packaging and adding the container tare. The method used is recorded against the shipment along with the declared figure.
When does the VGM have to be submitted?
Before the carrier's VGM cut-off for the sailing, which sits ahead of the terminal loading list. Freightgate holds the cut-off on the shipment and raises an exception when a container is approaching it without a declared figure.
What happens if a VGM is missing at cut-off?
The container is flagged before the cut-off rather than after, and routed to whoever can supply the weight. Catching it early is the point: once the loading list is closed, a missing VGM means a rolled container and a storage bill.
How is the VGM transmitted to the carrier?
Through the same EDI, API, and web-service connections Freightgate already uses for booking, so the declaration reaches the carrier and terminal in the format each one expects without a separate portal. See Integration.
Is the declaration retained for audit?
Yes. The figure, the weighing method, the declaring party, and the timestamp are stored against the shipment, so a challenge to a declared weight is answered from the record.
Controls on the same container.
See a VGM go out before the cut-off.
Bring one export booking. We will show you the cut-off on the container, the weight captured and validated, and the declaration transmitted in the carrier's format.