Major forwarders, shippers tap CargoSmart for VGM submission

Forwarders Nippon Express and Globaltransol, as well as forage shipper ACX Global, will submit verified gross mass data through CargoSmart’s platform to comply with upcoming International Maritime Organization regulations.    Thousands of shippers and freight forwarders are preparing to submit verified gross mass (VGM) data via CargoSmart Limited’s platform to comply with upcoming International Maritime Organization regulations, according to a statement from the shipment management solutions provider.
   The IMO’s new VGM rules, due to go into effect July 1 as part of an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) treaty, require shippers to weigh laden containers and transmit their VGM to carriers in advance of being loaded on to ships.
   CargoSmart in April announced it would offer free solutions for shippers to provide VGM data to carriers to comply with the SOLAS container weight requirements, and in May opened its EDI and online environments for testing.
   Forwarders Nippon Express and Globaltransol, as well as forage shipper ACX Global, are among the companies that have selected CargoSmart for VGM transmission services, the company said.
   “Weighing services, weight accuracy tolerance levels, cutoff times, and penalties for non-compliance vary by country, terminal, and carrier, making it challenging for shippers to prepare their weighing, verification, and processes in time for the implementation date,” Cargosmart noted.
   “Each steamship line has its own procedure to receive the VGM,” said Rei Goshima of Nippon Express USA’s ocean cargo division. “CargoSmart has one window to submit the VGM, making it easy and simple to comply by the implementation date. CargoSmart’s solution allows Nippon Express to collect the weight information from its customers and other weighing parties and to have visibility to the status of the required data before submitting the VGM to its carriers.”
   “After understanding the SOLAS VGM requirements, it was crucial for us to find a platform to submit our VGM information in a timely manner without going through several ocean carriers’ websites,” added Globaltransol President Eric Gnakadja. “CargoSmart’s monitoring tools will help Globaltransol confirm that VGMs are submitted on time for all booked containers.”
   “We need a centralized, shipment management platform for us to streamline the way we collect and submit the VGM information so that we can also spend our time focusing on our core competencies,” said Hong Do, director of supply chain at ACX Global, a Bakersfield, Calif.-based supplier of hay products to Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

   Correction: A previous version of this story referred to ACX Global as a produce shipper. Forage is a catchall term for various hay products used as animal feed.