INTTRA unveils “eVGM” product

The self-described ocean shipping e-marketplace late Wednesday night released details of a new tool aimed at helping shippers to comply with International Maritime Organization verified gross mass requirements.    Ocean shipping booking provider INTTRA unveiled its so-called “eVGM” tool, aimed at helping shippers to comply with new International Maritime Organization container weight regulations, late Wednesday night.
   Shippers will be required to submit the verified gross mass (VGM) of laden containers prior to being loaded onto a ship starting July 1 under an amendment to the IMO’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention.
   The container shipping industry, however, has been complaining rather loudly about a lack of clarity regarding the implementation and enforcement of the VGM amendment, which has essentially been left to member states to decide individually.
   The eVGM product will allow shippers, forwarders and non-vessel operators (NVOs) to submit the container weight verification data element to carriers either as a separate message or along with the shipping instructions. If the VGM information is submitted with the shipping instructions, INTTRA will extract it and provide it as a separate message to carriers so it doesn’t disrupt the carriers’ existing processes for receiving shipping instructions.
   INTTRA has been at the forefront of the container weight issue for months, promoting itself as a neutral platform to transmit VGM data similar to how it acts as the most commonly used electronic platform for making bookings requests and sending shipping instructions to ocean carriers.
   The company developed the eVGM product based on feedback from a group of more than 10 core advisors in the liner carrier and forwarding industries, as well as feedback from more than 200 other companies.