Verified Gross Mass (VGM) refers to the verified overall weight of a container.
The international Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), adopted amendments to SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) which require ports to have a VGM weight before a container can be loaded onto a vessel.
The SOLAS amendments introduced two main new requirements:
The verification of the gross weight can be achieved by either of two methods:
The amendments to SOLAS regulation VI/2 were accepted on 1 January 2016 and will enter into force on 1 July 2016.
You can read more about the changes on the following websites,
This means that export containers that are loaded onto a vessel MUST have a VGM weight in the ports' system. From the 1st of July, 2016, NZ ports will not load any container on to a vessel unless they have the VGM for that container.
VGM weights can be sent to ports as part of Pre-Advice. Pre-Advice is an electronic message that is sent to ports with the details of the export container (i.e. an online version of a Carters Note). Pre-Advice contains vital information about the container and the vessel it will be going out on.
Pre-Advice can be submitted in two ways:
To obtain access to PortConnect, contact info@portconnect.co.nz.
The Shipper is the party who is legally responsible for providing the VGM weight. However, any party can submit the Pre-Advice but the person who does so will be asked to confirm that they are entering a valid VGM before they can submit the Pre-Advice. This will provide an audit trail in the event that Martime NZ or other government organisation wishes to conduct an audit.
By submitting Pre-Advice the user agrees to PortConnect’s Terms and Conditions and confirms the validity of the information submitted. You can view a copy of PortConnect’s Terms and Conditions here, https://www.portconnect.co.nz/Home/TermsAndConditions
As part of PortConnect Pre-Advice, the only VGM information you need to provide is the VGM itself and confirmation that it is a correctly obtained VGM. PortConnect will send through the Pre-Advice along with the details of the user who submitted it to the port.
You may wish to keep your own records on the following information.
The SOLAS legislation takes effect from 1 July 2016, however, as requested by our Partner Ports, PortConnect will be introducing changes to Pre-Advice on the 14th of June to help ensure that vessels and containers transiting during the coming weeks are not held up due to missing VGM information, if loading or departure is delayed beyond the 1st of July. Therefore, users will need to tick the VGM tick box even for containers which are departing before the 1st of July.
You can submit a Pre-Advice any time up until the port receival cut off or until the truck/train arrives at the port if this is before the receival cut off.
Yes. Legally empty containers do not require a VGM to be loaded onto a vessel but our partner ports have asked for all containers to have a VGM weight. For empty containers you can enter the tare weight which is written on the container.
Yes. Legally coastal containers do not require a VGM to be loaded onto a vessel but our partner ports have asked for all containers to have a VGM weight.
Yes. Containers arriving by Rail will also require a confirmed VGM weight.
No. The VGM field will be mandatory in PortConnect and you will not be able to submit Pre-Advice without including this information and confirming its validity.
Yes. You can enter container details and save the Pre-Advice without having entered the weight information.
However, only containers with the VGM Weight, the Cargo Gross Weight and VGM Tick will be submitted to the port. If you submit your Pre-Advice and some of the weight information is missing then the container details will not be submitted to the port and the screen will display an error message telling you what information is missing.
Yes, you can change the VGM, and any other details, as long as it is done PRIOR to Gate-in.
No. Ports of Auckland and Port of Tauranga have both confirmed that they will not be weighing containers at their Seaports. Their Inland Port facilities may provide this service - please contact the port customer service teams if you have any questions about this.
There are no changes to the B2B Pre-Advice format. However, by submitting B2B Pre-Advice the user agrees to PortConnect’s Terms and Conditions and confirms the validity of the information submitted. You can view a copy of PortConnect’s Terms and Conditions here, https://www.portconnect.co.nz/Home/TermsAndConditions
You can find more information by reading the Pre-Advice User-Guide or by contacting info@portconnect.co.nz.
You can look up containers in Track & Trace and drill down on them to see the declared weight and whether it is a VGM or not.
You can also extract the information to Excel or CSV file and check the same details.
This depends on the shipping line. PortConnect and our partner ports send a variety of EDI messages to shippings and some of these messages can contain VGM details if the shipping line has agreed this with PortConnect and/or the port.
All shipping lines can also check VGM weights by using PortConnect's Track & Trace.
An Accredited Person (or Trading Standards Officer) can issue a Certificate of Accuracy on request. A fee is usually charged for this service.
Contact Trading Standards for more information on 0508 627 774.
No. Collecting the VGM weight is the responsibility of the first port of load. Tranship ports will receive the VGM weight directly from the shipping line.