Mandatory container weighing in port of Rotterdam
Through the Port Community System of Portbase, forwarders and exporters have one entry point for reporting the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of their export containers to a large number of shipping companies.
The worldwide mandatory weighing obliges the shipper or forwarder to submit the gross weight of an export container to the shipping company in good time in the Shipping Document.
Safety at sea
This mandatory container weighing is stipulated in an amendment to the IMO’s SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) treaty, which deals with the safety at sea. In the Netherlands, these new regulations and their implementation will be incorporated in the Ships Act (Schepenwet). Shipping companies (only in Dutch) can use the data relating to the containers’ correct gross mass to draw up a solid stowage plan, ensuring the safety of the ship, its cargo and the crew.
Verified weighing methods
The shipper or freight forwarder bears responsibility for informing the ship’s agent of the container’s correct weight. The VGM can be determined in two different ways:
- Physically weighing the container on calibrated and certified weighing equipment;
- The calculation method: adding up the individual weights of the cargo items, packaging, pallets, dunnage and other securing materials and the tare weight of the container.
Permitted deviation in the Netherlands
- No more than 500 kilogrammes if the actual gross weight of the verified container is under 10 tonnes;
- No more than 5 percent of the total mass if the actual gross weight of the verified container is 10 tonnes or over.
Weighing facilities and services in Rotterdam
Various companies in Rotterdam have facilities that allow for the physical weighing of containers:
- Broekman Logistics, Botlek
- Kramer Group, Maasvlakte
- Container Transferium BCTN, Alblasserdam
- Weegbrug Waalhaven, Waalhaven
- Gasmeetstation Rotterdam, Maasvlakte
- Kieboom Weegbrug, Waalhaven
- A15 Containerservices, Rotterdam-Albrandswaard
No VGM, no loading
The shipper or forwarder must send the correct weight to the shipping company on a signed document. The ship's captain may not take the cargo along without this document. If a shipping company does not have the correct VGM information on time, it will refuse to load the ship.
Containers without verified weight will in principle be admitted to the terminals, reports the Association of Rotterdam Terminal Operators (VRTO). However, they will not be loaded until the shipping company has received the required data.