Verified Gross Mass: A Year After Implementation
“Risk at sea” is something that you cannot fathom till you sail on a Ship at least once. Imagine seafarers having to spend days and months with this fear. This not only affects their performance but also their families.
This will not only affect their work but you would not have many people vying for this job. The crux is Safety at Sea and when combined with loss of cargo and related effort and money spent, this is a huge problem at hand.
The Background of VGM Regulations
Vessel instability has seen many high profile incidents in the recent years. The root cause of these accidents is that often actual weight exceeding declared weight by several hundred percent. The SOLAS initiative – will help to avoid potential accidents through the supply chain.
The Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) is a treaty of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency tasked with maintaining a comprehensive framework of rules for international carriage by sea. 171 nations are members of the IMO, so virtually all national governments are State Parties responsible for implementing its treaty measures.
In 2014 the IMO approved amendments to SOLAS, which comes into effect on 1 July 2016, requiring at Paragraph 6.6 that “[a]fter finalisation of stuffing and securing of containerized cargo, the total container weight must be verified and documented” by the Shipper prior to the tendering of cargo (Verified Gross Mass).
Authentic VGM or Verified Gross Mass is the bare minimum that the Shipping Industry could have contributed as part of Prevention. Effectively, VGM is self declaration of the Gross Weight of the Container plus the Cargo plus any other material within the Container. Of course, it has always been the responsibility of shippers to provide an accurate declared weight for cargo; the new obligation is to ensure the weight is verified using one of the two methods as prescribed by IMO SOLAS regulations.
Though many accidents of ships toppling / breaking mid sea have been recorded in the recent past, the immediate changes arose from the circumstances of the sinking of the MSC Napoli in severe weather in the seas between England and France.
The subsequent investigation by the British Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that significant discrepancies between declared and actual weights of the containers stowed on deck was a contributing factor in the disaster The new SOLAS requirements require that the verified gross mass is documented, signed by someone duly authorized by the shipper, and provided to the Master or their representative “sufficiently in advance to be used in stowage planning.”
ODeX and the Implementation of SOLAS Guidelines via Electronically Transmitted VGM
IMO designed the VGM regulation keeping in mind these Safety related issues as well as the Loss to humanity and Business.
The Indian Government represented by D.G.Shipping went one step ahead and brought a notice that the Container carrying the cargo needs to get the weighment done via an Electronic weighbridge , which will further transmit VGM electronically to the Carriers. This would ensure that the VGM is completely accurate and tamper prood.
ODeX is a trusted partner in this endeavour and was one of the very first online platforms to be certified by D.G.Shipping as a trusted website for submission of VGM data. Within a span of 2 months from launch – in July 2016, more than 80 Carriers integrated with ODeX. ODeX also integrated with weighbridges, both Shipper as well as Road Side Weighbridges, across the country to ensure adherence to regulation without compromising on the Ease at the user's end. The Integration with the Form13 or Pre-Gate system is an added advantage that every ODeX customer enjoys.
Today, more than 15,000+ companies confidently submit their VGM via ODeX and more importantly use the various Online Services which make the life easier of the Shipper, Custom Broker, Forwarder and much more in this ecosystem.
ODeX has ensured that the transition was smooth and a year after implementation when we look back – it doesn’t seem chaotic at all. The D.G.Shipping, Carriers, Shippers, Custom Brokers, Forwarders and ODeX – all worked together tirelessly to ensure that there was no disruption due to SOLAS implementation.
These small changes – with an integrated and efficient means of working ensure that the Ease of Doing Business is a reality for the entire industry.
ODeX has and will strive to ensure every stakeholder in this Shipping fraternity is e-enabled in the most cost-effective and convenient manner.
For more details on ODeX eVGM or other services – you can reach the author at anand.raman@odex.co
