The effect of the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) implementation in Australia

In container shipping, the declaration of the accurate mass is of prime importance in terms of prevention of accidents and consequently losses. After the incidents of vessels such as Napoli, Anabella, Deneb, accuracy in the implementation of the provisions of the Chapter VI Part A of the SOLAS, 1974 convention and the warranty of accurate information declaration of packed containers by shippers had been questioned. As a result, the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) amendment to the Chapter was entered into force aiming to strengthen the safe practices of accurate weight declaration of packed container by shippers. This study investigates the impact of the VGM implementation by surveying key stakeholders engaged in international containerized trade in Australia, including shippers, container shipping companies and terminal operators. The effects of VGM implementation investigated included relationships, organizational practices, responsibility, financial cost, time delay, safety and the accuracy of VGM data. The findings revealed industry’s positive perception towards the VGM amendments and confirmed its positive impact on safety for shipping companies and terminal operators. However, there are some problems in implementing the VGM rules. The organizational practices have been affected, with a major challenge of clarifying the responsibility for the VGM implementation. Shippers have been the most affected organizations in terms of financial costs, mostly occurred in the outsourcing the weighing service; and extra steps needed for outsourcing the VGM data have been found as the primary reason for time delays. The result also revealed that in Australia inaccurate VGM had been caused by the imported and transshipped containers.