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VGM calculator

Work out the verified gross mass SOLAS requires before your container can be loaded - item by item, with the arithmetic shown.

Item 1

Everything packed inside that is not the cargo - pallets, blocking, bracing, lashing. Commonly forgotten.

From the CSC plate on the door of THIS container. Two boxes of the same type differ by 100 kg or more - do not use a typical figure.

Also on the door plate. Adding it checks your payload and flags an over-limit pack.

If you also weighed the packed container, enter it to cross-check the two SOLAS methods against each other.

Add your package weights and the container's tare from its door plate. The VGM appears here.

How this is calculated

Method 2 (calculated):
  Cargo total = sum of (weight each x pieces) for every item packed
  VGM         = cargo total + packaging and dunnage + container tare

Method 1 (weighed):
  VGM = the packed container on a calibrated weighbridge

Payload check  = VGM / max gross mass on the door plate
Cross-check    = weighbridge reading - calculated VGM

Assumptions

  • Container tare is an input, taken from the CSC plate on the door of the specific container. Two boxes of the same size and type routinely differ by 100 kg or more, so a typical figure is not good enough for a declaration.
  • Everything packed inside counts - pallets, dunnage, blocking, bracing, lashing and packaging, not only the cargo. Omitting them is the most common source of an understated VGM.
  • Method 2 is only valid where the competent authority in the country of packing has approved and certified the method used. Where it has not, the packed container must be weighed.
  • The weighbridge field is a cross-check, not an average. SOLAS treats the two methods as alternatives; where they disagree, something is wrong rather than halfway between.
  • Max gross mass is the structural limit plated on the container. Road and rail limits on the way to the terminal are often lower and are not modelled here.

How to use this VGM calculator

The answer appears as you type. There is no form to submit and no account - the figures stay in your browser, and the link at the bottom carries them if you need to send the working to a colleague.

Work down your packing list. Each line gets a weight and a piece count, and you add a line per item type rather than pre-totalling anything yourself. Then add the packaging and dunnage, and the container’s tare from its door plate.

Two optional fields are worth filling in. Max gross mass, also on the door plate, turns the result into a payload check and flags an over-limit pack before it reaches the terminal. Weighbridge reading, if you also weighed the packed box, cross-checks the two SOLAS methods against each other.

Worked example

A 20ft container packed with two product types:

  • 12 pieces at 850 kg each
  • 4 pieces at 1,200 kg each
  • Pallets, dunnage and packaging: 320 kg
  • Tare from the door plate: 2,250 kg
  • Max gross on the plate: 30,480 kg

Cargo comes to 12 × 850 + 4 × 1,200 = 15,000 kg.

Add the rest: 15,000 + 320 + 2,250 = 17,570 kg. That is your VGM.

Against the plated maximum, 17,570 ÷ 30,480 = 57.6% used, with 12,910 kg of capacity left.

Now the cross-check. You also ran the packed container over a weighbridge and got 17,700 kg. That is 130 kg above the calculated figure, a variance of 0.74 per cent - close enough to say the packing list is sound, and small enough that the difference is likely a pallet or two of dunnage nobody wrote down.

Why the packing list belongs in the calculator

SOLAS defines Method 2 as adding the tare mass “to the sum of the single masses”. The sum of the single masses is the calculation. Adding tare to a number you already have is arithmetic anyone can do in their head.

Every other VGM tool checked takes one aggregate cargo figure. That pushes the real work back into a spreadsheet, which is exactly where VGM errors are made - a line missed, a piece count from the wrong order, a subtotal that was right two revisions ago. Entering the list here means the sum and the declaration are the same object, and the working prints out so you can reconcile it against the packing list line by line.

It also makes a change cheap. Drop two pieces from an order and you edit one row rather than re-deriving a total.

The cross-check nobody offers

If you have both a weighbridge reading and a packing list, the two SOLAS methods should land on nearly the same number. When they do not, that gap is information.

A calculated figure that comes in light usually means something inside was never written down - dunnage, a pallet, packaging that was treated as tare. A calculated figure that comes in heavy often means a piece count is wrong, or a package weight on the list is a nominal figure rather than an actual one.

Either way the answer is to find the discrepancy, not to average it. SOLAS treats the two methods as alternatives, so there is no “combined” figure to declare. Where you have a weighbridge reading, that is the number to use - it is the more defensible one if the declaration is ever questioned.

The calculator flags any variance above one per cent, which is the tolerance several national administrations apply to Method 1 weighing.

Tare is where most wrong declarations start

The single most common error in a calculated VGM is a tare weight taken from a table of typical container weights rather than from the container itself.

Tare varies. Two 20ft standard dry boxes of the same nominal type can differ by a hundred kilograms or more depending on age, repair history and flooring. That difference goes straight into your declaration with nothing to catch it, because the arithmetic is still correct - only the input was wrong.

The figure you need is on the CSC plate, the metal plate fixed to the container door, and it is usually stencilled on the door as well next to the max gross and payload figures. Read it off the box you are actually shipping, every time. It takes ten seconds and it removes the one error the working cannot show you.

What the regulation actually requires

SOLAS chapter VI, regulation 2 was amended in 2014 and has been in force since 1 July 2016. The obligation sits with the shipper named on the bill of lading, regardless of who physically packed the box.

The shipper must state the verified gross mass in the shipping document and submit it to the master or their representative and to the terminal representative early enough for it to be used in the ship stowage plan. The regulation deliberately does not name a deadline in hours - it says sufficiently in advance - so the deadline that binds you is the VGM cut-off your carrier or terminal publishes for that sailing. Those vary by port and by line and are usually earlier than people expect.

There is a contingency for a container arriving without a VGM: the master or their representative and the terminal may obtain the figure on the shipper’s behalf, typically by weighing it. Who pays is left to the commercial parties, which in practice means the shipper pays for a weighing they could have avoided, and the box may miss the sailing while it happens.

Method 2 is not automatically available

One thing worth checking before you rely on any calculated figure, including this one.

Method 1 needs calibrated and certified weighing equipment and nothing else. Method 2 additionally requires a method that has been certified and approved by the competent authority in the country where the container was packed. That approval regime differs between jurisdictions, and in some it is more involved than shippers expect.

If your packing country has not approved the method you are using, the calculated number is not a valid VGM no matter how carefully it was worked out, and the packed container has to go over a weighbridge instead. This calculator does the arithmetic correctly; it cannot grant you the approval.

Frequently asked questions

How is VGM calculated?
Under SOLAS Method 2 you add the mass of every package and cargo item, including pallets, dunnage and other securing material, then add the container's tare mass to that sum. Method 1 skips the arithmetic entirely - you put the packed container on calibrated equipment and read the number. This calculator does Method 2 line by line and will cross-check it against a Method 1 reading if you have one.
How to calculate VGM in shipping?
Take your packing list, enter each item's weight and how many pieces of it are going in, add the packaging and dunnage, then add the tare stamped on the container door. That total is the figure you declare. The shipper is responsible for it, it has to reach the carrier and the terminal in time for stowage planning, and it goes into the shipping document rather than being handed over verbally.
What is VGM as per SOLAS?
Verified gross mass is the total mass of a packed container - cargo, packaging, dunnage and the container itself - verified by one of two permitted methods and declared by the shipper. It comes from SOLAS chapter VI, regulation 2, amended in 2014 and in force since 1 July 2016. Without a verified figure the container is not supposed to be loaded aboard the vessel.
What is the difference between Method 1 and Method 2?
Method 1 is weighing the packed container. Method 2 is weighing all packages and cargo items, including the mass of pallets, dunnage and other securing material, and adding the container's tare mass to the sum of the single masses. Method 2 additionally requires a method certified and approved by the competent authority where the container was packed - Method 1 needs only calibrated equipment. They are alternatives, not a pair to average.
Where do I find the container tare weight?
On the CSC plate, which is the metal plate fixed to the container door, and usually stencilled on the door as well alongside the max gross and payload figures. Use the plate on the actual box you are shipping. Tare varies between containers of the same size and type by a hundred kilograms or more, depending on age, repairs and flooring, and that difference lands directly in your declaration.
Does packaging and dunnage count towards VGM?
Yes, and this is the most common way a VGM comes out understated. SOLAS names pallets, dunnage and other securing material explicitly. Blocking, bracing, lashing, airbags, corner boards and the packaging around the goods are all inside the box and all count. Only the cargo itself is a figure from the commercial invoice, not a verified gross mass.
Who is responsible for providing the VGM?
The shipper named on the bill of lading, regardless of who physically packed the container. The shipper states the verified gross mass in the shipping document and submits it to the master or their representative and to the terminal representative in time for it to be used in ship stowage planning. Delegating the weighing does not delegate the responsibility.
What happens if a container has no VGM?
It should not be loaded. The IMO guidelines do allow a contingency - the master or their representative and the terminal representative may obtain the verified gross mass on the shipper's behalf, by weighing at the terminal or elsewhere - but who pays for that is left to the commercial parties, which in practice means the shipper. The cheaper outcome is to declare it on time.
When does the VGM have to be submitted?
SOLAS says sufficiently in advance to be used in the ship stowage plan rather than naming an hour, so the operative deadline is the cut-off your carrier or terminal publishes for that specific sailing. Those cut-offs differ by port and by line and are usually earlier than people expect. Take the time from your booking confirmation, not from the regulation.
How to calculate volume of a 20ft container?
Volume is a different measurement from VGM - one is space and the other is mass - but both come off the same door plate. A 20ft standard dry container holds about 33 cubic metres by published internal volume, with Ocean Network Express listing 33.1 and Evergreen 33.2, and a 40ft standard about 67. Real usable volume is lower, typically 80 to 90 per cent once cartons and a workable load plan are accounted for. Work your shipment's own volume out on the CBM calculator.
How much is 1000 kg in CBM?
There is no conversion, and this question is worth answering plainly because it comes up constantly. Kilograms measure mass and cubic metres measure space, so 1,000 kg of feathers and 1,000 kg of steel occupy wildly different volumes. What you probably need is one of two other things - your shipment's actual volume, which the CBM calculator gives you from carton dimensions, or the chargeable weight a carrier bills on, which the volumetric weight calculator works out for air and courier freight.

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Results are estimates for planning purposes. Verify with your carrier or customs broker before committing. This is not professional advice - see the disclaimer.

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