VGM
VGM (Verified Gross Mass) is the total verified weight of a packed container — cargo, dunnage and the empty container tare combined. Under the SOLAS Chapter VI amendment effective July 2016, the shipper must declare a VGM to the carrier and terminal before a container can be loaded onto a ship; a container without a valid VGM cannot be loaded.
VGM is determined two ways: Method 1 weighs the packed container on a calibrated weighbridge; Method 2 weighs each item and adds the verified tare. The rule followed a series of incidents caused by mis-declared weights, which threaten vessel stability and stack collapse. Modern freight platforms capture and transmit VGM automatically via EDI (VERMAS messages).
VGM is a hard gate, not a formality: under SOLAS, a container without a valid VGM simply cannot be loaded aboard the vessel. The rule exists because mis-declared weights caused real incidents — lost boxes, stack collapses and threats to vessel stability. VGM puts legal responsibility for an accurate weight on the shipper.
Weigh the packed box
Cargo + verified tare
A 40ft container with a tare of 3,750 kg is packed with 18,200 kg of cargo and 150 kg of dunnage:
VGM = 18,200 + 150 + 3,750 = 22,100 kg. That figure is declared to the carrier (often via a VERMAS EDI message) before the box may be loaded.
Who is responsible for providing the VGM?
The shipper named on the bill of lading. Under SOLAS the shipper is legally responsible for providing an accurate verified gross mass to the carrier and terminal.
What happens if a container has no VGM?
It cannot be loaded aboard the vessel — "no VGM, no load" is a hard rule under SOLAS Chapter VI.