Mediterranean Shipping Company, a leader in global container shipping, and INTTRA, an ocean shipping electronic marketplace, have formed a new partnership which will introduce a solution to new container weight safety regulations.

Under the agreement, MSC will use INTTRA’s eVGM software as a channel for receiving verified gross mass (VGM) submissions from shippers.

Beginning July 1, the International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) amendment will require that no container will be cleared to be loaded onto a ship until the shipper or its designee provides a verified weight to the carrier.

“We believe this tool will help minimize potential disruption to our customers’ shipments and additional costs associated with terminal storage or transportation,” said Fabio Catassi, chief technology officer of MSC.

MSC has also joined INTTRA’s eVGM Initiative, a non-commercial group of over a dozen leading carriers, freight forwarders, and terminals. INTTRA launched the initiative to express a preference for digital transmission of VGM and establish common technology and business process standards for it across the industry.

Common standards for VGM submission are essential to the industry’s efforts to reduce the cost and disruption resulting from the implementation of the new amendment. MSC is joining the eVGM Initiative to share its expertise and help the shipping community continuously refine eVGM messaging standards.

“MSC is an early leader in using technology to resolve the changes that SOLAS VGM has created for the industry,” said INTTRA CEO John Fay.

INTTRA’s eVGM software—available in two versions, for carriers and shippers—helps to achieve SOLAS VGM compliance in time for implementation of the amendment and reduce disruption to existing business processes. It can also facilitate transmission of VGMs from carriers to terminals—another step required before a container can be loaded—and provide the necessary audit reporting.

INTTRA eVGM for Shippers enables timely submission of VGMs to carriers, whether or not shippers book containers or submit shipping instructions through INTTRA.  Both solutions will be offered in a range of EDI and web service formats, and accommodate eVGM submission via email.