Can the terminal weigh my container?

Yes: if the VGM is missing, the master or their representative and the terminal may obtain it on the shipper’s behalf, at the terminal or elsewhere, as the parties agree.

Who pays if the container is not loaded?

The IMO guidelines leave the costs of not loading, storage, demurrage or return to the contracts between the parties. Check with your freight forwarder or shipping line.

Which VGM applies if there are two different ones?

The VGM prevails over a mass declared earlier and, if there are two VGMs, the one obtained by the port terminal prevails.

Who is responsible if the VGM is wrong?

The shipper: the party named as shipper on the bill of lading or the party that contracted the carriage. It can have the weighing done by a third party, but the VGM is its own.

Does it also apply between Spanish ports?

No. The Spanish resolution excludes containers that travel entirely between Spanish ports.

Can I use the weight on the invoice or the packing list?

Only as a starting point. The VGM is obtained by method 1 (weighing the packed container) or method 2 (weighing the packages and cargo items and adding the tare), with calibrated equipment. VGM guide

Guide · When something goes wrong

Container rejected over VGM in Spain: what to do.

A container without a VGM (verified gross mass), or with a VGM above the maximum gross mass on its CSC plate, is not loaded on board. First, find out the exact reason; then send or correct the VGM, or remove cargo, and book another vessel if you miss the cut-off.

In short

Without a VGM, or with a VGM above the maximum gross mass on its CSC plate, the container is not loaded on board.
The terminal may accept it and obtain the VGM on the shipper’s behalf, but it will not load it until it has one.
The costs of not loading are shared according to the contracts between the parties, not according to SOLAS.

What to do now

Ask the shipping line or the terminal for the exact reason: whether the VGM is missing, arrived late, does not match a weighing or exceeds the CSC plate. And ask for the new deadline.
If it is missing or arrived late: send the VGM, signed by an authorised person, as soon as possible. If you cannot, agree for the master or the terminal to obtain it on your behalf.
If it does not match the terminal’s weighing: the terminal’s figure prevails. In Spain, there is a discrepancy when two weighings differ by 500 kg for containers of up to 10 t, or by 5% above 10 t, either way (examples inwhen there is a discrepancy). Check what was missing from your calculation: the tare, the pallets, the packaging or the dunnage.
If it exceeds the maximum gross mass on the CSC plate: it cannot be loaded like that. Cargo has to be removed and a new VGM obtained.
If you miss the vessel cut-off: book the next one and check the storage and demurrage costs under your contract with your freight forwarder or shipping line.

Why it happens

Since 1 July 2016, SOLAS regulation VI/2 has required the shipper to verify the gross mass of every packed container and to state it in the shipping document sufficiently in advance. Without a VGM, the container is not loaded on the ship. The IMO guidelines (MSC.1/Circ.1475) add that a container exceeding its maximum gross mass may not be loaded on board.

In Spain, the rule is applied by the Resolution of 15 June 2016 of the DGMM (Spanish Directorate General of the Merchant Navy): responsibility lies with the shipper, the terminal may accept the container without a VGM but not load it, and loading will be refused if the VGM exceeds the maximum gross mass.

When there is a discrepancy and which weight prevails

For the purposes of the DGMM Resolution of 15 June 2016, there is a discrepancy when two weighings differ by 500 kg for containers of up to 10 t, or by 5% above 10 t, either way.

Container mass	Criterion	Difference counted as a discrepancy
8,000 kg	500 kg	500 kg
10,000 kg	500 kg	500 kg
20,000 kg	5%	1,000 kg
25,000 kg	5%	1,250 kg

If there is one, the VGM prevails over a mass declared earlier, and a terminal weighing over an earlier one. In practice, the most recent verified figure counts: a mass declared earlier does not override the VGM, and a VGM does not override a terminal weighing.

The resolution does not apply to voyages between Spanish ports, or to containers on a chassis or trailer on ro-ro ships making short international voyages.

Why the declared weight does not match

Because the weighing was done wrong or because something is missing from the sum. The most common mismatches:

Weighing two containers together on a vehicle and dividing the total by two.
Weighing on a vehicle without subtracting the tare of the vehicle, the tractor unit and the fuel.
With method 2, leaving out the pallets, the dunnage or the securing material: the figure falls short of what the scales show.
Using a typical tare instead of the one on the plate of the container being loaded, which varies by manufacturer.

The other errors pointed out by the IMO and the Spanish resolution are in the VGM guide.

How to avoid it next time

Calculate the VGM with everything: the tare from the plate of the container you are going to load (not a typical figure), the cargo, the pallets, the packaging and the stowage material.
Weigh with calibrated equipment and, if you use method 2, make sure it is certified and approved.
Check that you do not exceed the maximum gross mass on the CSC plate before loading.
Note the VGM deadline the shipping line gives you when it confirms the booking.
And do the pre-booking load validation: before you book, check that your load fits in the equipment, that the weight is within limits and that it can be properly stowed. You can start with the VGM calculator and then validate the whole load.

How to obtain the VGM, step by step, is in the VGM guide.

Sources

Validate your load before it ships.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026