SOLAS regulation for Verified Gross Mass

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has made an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS): it requires that every packed container be assigned a verified gross weight.
 
As of July 1st, 2016 it is the shippers responsibility to determine the container weight and to submit the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) to the ocean carriers, before loading the container onto a vessel for export. Without submitting the VGM, the container will be rejected from the port authorities and will not be loaded onto the vessel.
 
There are two accepted methods of calculating the verified gross mass of a container; which is weighing the stuffed container (Option 1) or weighing all cargo, adding dunnage and the tare weight of the container, which can be found at the door of the container (Option 2).  
 
For all FCL containers the Consignor is obliged to submit the VGM declaration to us by filling in the VGM declaration sheet (see attachment). As some ports do have a “no VGM, no gate-in” policy, the document needs to be submitted to your respective contact person at Röhlig latest at time of packing the container, prior to leaving the premise. To ensure an immediate processing, the declaration should be send via e-mail. A hard copy of the declaration is to be handed over to the driver of the trucking company in addition.
 
For your further reference, kindly see below timeframe for the VGM procedure for FCL container, in cases when you are able to verify the cargo weight yourself (you have a scale on site).