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Container weighing regulation is 'very challenging': INTTRAContainer weighing regulation is 'very challenging': INTTRA

Box shipping e-marketplace INTTRA, which is rolling an electronic system to submit verified weights of containers, says the new regulation is “very challenging”.

Marcus Hand, Editor

March 15, 2016

2 Min Read
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From 1 July this year the IMO has mandated under an amendment to the SOLAS Convention that shippers provide a Verified Gross Mass (VGM) for all ocean containers before they are loaded aboard the vessel for the purposes of the stowage plan.

“It is a very challenging regulatory change,” Jim Whalen, president Asia for INTTRA, told a briefing in Singapore on Tuesday.

“INTTRA has had a significant role of raising awareness about this regulatory change.”

INTTRA is rolling out an electronic VGM (eVGM) system, which allows shippers to electronic submission of the required data for submission. With the VGM data being required for stowage planning this means that the submission needs to be made around three days before the ship arrives in port according to Inna Kuznetsova, president and coo of INTTRA.

There still remains considerable confusion as to how carriers and terminals will treat boxes where the VGM arrives less than three days before the vessel arrives.

Kuznetsova said one terminal said that if there was no VGM three days before the container will not be allowed through the gate. “That’s very harsh,” she commented.

However, the terminal’s reasoning is that it has limited yard space and does not know how many containers it would need to store. Other terminals are taking the approach of if there is no VGM the container will not be loaded, but will be allowed in the terminal.

“The absence of a common standard is what makes this difficult,” she said.

Some lines such as Hapag-Lloyd and UASC, which are both INTTRA users, have issued their guidelines.

About the Author

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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