All shippers, under an amendment to the International Convention for the Safety at Life at Sea (Solas), must provide a statement on a cargo’s verified gross mass (VGM).

The move comes following a series of containership casualties including the 2007 grounding of the 4,700-teu MSC Napoli (built 1991) in the English Channel, in which the actual weight of cargo was found to be well in excess of the declared amount.

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