msc and Inttra enter into a new digital partnership

MSC, a world leader in global container shipping, and INTTRA, the world's ocean shipping electronic marketplace, are pleased to announce a new partnership which will introduce a customer-friendly 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.

As of July 1st, under the International Maritime Organization's Safety of Life at Sea amendment (SOLAS VGM), 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 are pleased to partner with INTTRA to implement their innovative 'eVGM' software on a global basis," said Fabio Catassi, Chief Technical Officer of MSC. "INTTRA's eVGM tool will help us to continue to provide superior customer service and make it as easy as possible for our clients to submit VGMs digitally.

We believe this tool will help minimize potential disruption to our customers's shipments and additional costs associated with terminal storage or transportation. In addition, MSC has 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.

< Korea Shipping Gazette >