In order to address safety problems at sea and on shore arising from container shipments that have incorrect weight declarations, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) made amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention.

The mis-declaration of container weights has resulted in:

• Numerous casualties to vessels
• The lives of ship’s crew and stevedores being placed at risk
• Damage to equipment e.g. ships lifting appliances, shore cranes and lifting gear
• Cargo being left behind because vessels are unexpectedly overloaded

 
In 2014 they introduced Guidelines Regarding the Verified Gross Mass of a Container Carrying Cargo (MSC 1/Circ1475). The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new requirements go into effect on July 1, 2016. The SA maritime industry was advised of the SOLAS amendments, through Marine Notice 11 of 2015, distributed on 26th June 2015. A VGM guideline was published in May 2021 through Marine Notice 11 of 2021. The Method 2 directive comes into force on 1 July 2016.  SAMSA issued Marine Notice MN 01-2025 on 11 December 2025, directing that all Weighing Facilities that use weighbridges to determine the VGM of packed and sealed export containers for SOLAS must be audited and certified by a SAMSA Accredited VGM Entity (SAE) for Method 1. This directive comes into force on 1 July 2026.

• Prior to loading cargo units on board ships, the shipper shall ensure that the gross mass of such units is in accordance with the gross mass declared on the shipping documents.
• Any shipping container leaving from any port in the world must be accompanied by a shipping document signed by the shipper on the bill of lading listing the verified gross mass of a container in order to be loaded onto a ship.
• Weighing must be done on scales calibrated and certified to the national standards of the country where the weighing was performed.

Failure to provide this information may result in the master of the vessel refusing to load the container.