Who do I need to provide my VGM to?
OOCL. To assist all parties OOCL will act as a portal for Shippers/Forwarders, Terminals and the MCA (UK Authority) to make sure the process runs smoothly and for OOCL to comply with IMO requirements.
Does OOCL offer a weighing service for Shipper/Forwarders to VGM?
No, OOCL does not offer a weighing service but the Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports and Forth Ports in the UK do. The service is available to all Shipper/Forwarders.
How do Shippers/Forwarders advise Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports and Forth Ports Terminals that they wish to use their Third Party Service Provider (TPSP) to gain their VGM?
If a Shipper/Forwarder would like to use Felixstowe, Liverpool, Grangemouth or Greenock Terminals to gain their VGM, they need to supply OOCL with their Destin8 VGM Exporter Badge, the reference they would like on their invoice and the code TL to indicate that they would like the Terminal to supply them with a VGM for each of their containers on that booking. This needs to be provided at the time of booking request, if Shipper/Forwarder chooses this option they do not have to provide any further details to OOCL.
**Full explanation is below.
How do Shippers/Forwarders advise Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports and Forth Ports Terminals that they wish to supply their own VGM?
If a Shipper/Forwarder would like to provide their own VGM to Liverpool, Grangemouth or Greenock Terminals, they need to supply OOCL with the Destin8 VGM Exporter Badge, the reference they would like on their invoice and the code SL to indicate that they will supply the Terminal with a VGM for each of their containers on that Booking. This advice needs to be provided at the time of booking request and they then have to provide the actual VGM via OOCL online system MOC or via EDI prior to OOCL provided cutoff.
**Full explanation is below.
What costs will Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports and Forth Ports charge and who will they be charged to?
There are costs for both those that supply their own VGM and those that request for Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports or Forth Ports to supply their VGM. For those who supply their own VGM there is a small administration fee as Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports and Forth Port will verify all supplied VGMs to make sure they are within the MCA’s allowed tolerance. For those who request to use Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports or Forth Ports to gain their VGM there is a set charge for the weigh service provision, costs for both options are available via public tariff. All costs will be charged direct to the Destin8 badge code provided at booking stage.
What will happen if there is a discrepancy between Shipper and Terminal VGM?
Shippers/Forwarders are reminded that it is their responsibility to provide accurate weights for their shipments. If there is a variance between the VGM supplied by a Shipper/Forwarder and the Terminal VGM verification weight and it is greater than the MCA tolerance OOCL will create a variance notification to the Shipper/Forwarder. The MCA have the authority to impose a 2 years’ imprisonment or unlimited fine if inaccurate weights are supplied.
** Format of code required by OOCL from all Shipper/Forwarders using Peel Ports and Forth Ports for Export Shipments
At the time of booking request OOCL requires that each Shipper/Forwarder provides them with 3 items
- Destin8 VGM Exporter Badge
- Purchase Order/Customer Reference Number as will appear on the invoice
- Indicator TL or SL
- TL = Shipper/Forwarder requests to use the Terminal’s weighing service provision to gain a VGM
- SL = Shipper/Forwarder will supply their own VGM
The full format we will require would be as follows.
AAA*Customer Reference*TL (or SL)
The maximum permissible total length will be 35 digits. (AAA is the Destin8 VGM Exporter Badge)
For those that confirm TL i.e. Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports or Forth Ports to supply the VGM, there are no further details that need to be advised. It is taken by OOCL that by choosing this option the Shipper/Forwarder gives Port of Felixstowe, Peel Ports or Forth Ports the mandate to provide OOCL with their VGM via the Container In Gate EDI message. It is understood that Destin8 will email the VGM to the email address held in their database under the Destin8 VGM Exporter Badge.
For those that confirm SL, i.e. the shipper/forwarder will provide the terminal (via OOCL) with their own VGM there is one further step. Once the Shipper knows their VGM weight we require them to enter this weight into the My OOCL Center (MOC) online portal, details of how to do this will be available on line at
http://www.oocl.com/eng/ourservices/eservices/myooclcenter/Pages/default.aspx.
More information, including details on the methods of weighing can be found on OOCL’s VGM Page.
