The Verified Gross Mass weighing service is indispensable to optimize and speed shipping by sea.
The weighing of goods at ports may at times cause shipment delays no matter what time a truck arrives at the port, and may delay loading or even mean the goods fail to be loaded onto the ship.
Delay in the port is due to the strict laws governing safety at sea, which are encompassed in the SOLAS convention. To prevent delays in international shipments, Elledi Spa now provides for its customers a certified VGM weighbridge at its headquarters in Grassobbio.
With VGM the goods destined for export by sea arrive at the customs office with a certificate weighing and without the real risk of being denied boarding because they need to be weighed in accordance with the SOLAS convention.
The international convention of Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international treaty of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which was drawn up in response to the disastrous sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
The aim of the convention is the safety of merchant shipping, with explicit reference to the safety of human life at sea.
Verified Gross Mass (acronym VGM) is the verified gross mass of a container and corresponds to the net weight of the goods loaded or to be loaded added to the tare of the container.
What does the legislation say
The obligation to measure and communicate the Verified Gross Mass of every container before being loaded onto ships became effective on 1st July 2016. More specifically, this obligation is an amendment to chapter VI of the SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) convention concerning the transport of loads. The amendment is included in the guidelines prepared by the IMO and in the Italian Executive Decree no. 447/2016 and Memorandum no. 125/2016. As with the entire convention, the aim of the amendment is to improve the safety of lives at sea, giving terminal operators the real opportunity to calculate accurately and reliably the loads of ships.
Following achievement of the ISO 9001:2008§7.6 company certification (certificate no. IT09/0620.01) with the requirements defined in the memorandum “SHIPPING SAFETY” General series no. 125/2016 and its annexes for the weighing process as stated in art. 4.3, we are able to apply both weighing methods – METHOD 1 and METHOD 2 – envisaged by the convention:
It requires that the container is weighed after being loaded, closed and sealed. With this method, the calculation involves firstly weighing the vehicle and empty container and then the load by weighing the vehicle and full container, or by weighing directly the vehicle and full container, subtracting the tare of the vehicle, trailer and fuel present in the tank.
It requires that all goods, including the materials for lashing, dunnage and packaging, are weighed before loading into the container.
This weighing service optimizes costs and times without the risk of encountering problems. Furthermore, by using our AUTHORIZED CUSTOMS POINT, a CUSTOMS STOP may be provided, obtaining, at the same time, the VGM and customs export declaration and allowing your container to be transported directly to the port ready for loading.
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