by Hobbs • 28 AUG 2025

❔ The Did You Knows? ❓VGM - Verified Gross Mass

Have you ever wondered how a shipping vessel maintains its stability while at sea with all those heavy containers on board? There is a sizeable amount of planning that goes into protecting vessel stability, preventing stack collapses and ensuring the safety of port and dock workers.

Verified Gross Mass or VGM is the total weight of a packed shipping container, verified by the shipper as required by International Maritime Organizations (IMO) Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations. This mandatory requirement which came into effect internationally in July 2016, ensures the safe loading of containers onto vessels by preventing accidents caused by overweight or incorrectly declared containers.

There are two generally accepted methods of declaring a VGM:

  1. Weighing the packed container and all its contents using certified equipment. Trucks generally utilise weigh bridges as a means of calculating this.
  2. Weighing the cargo (goods weight), dunnage (packaging weight) and empty container (tare weight) separately and then summing these weights to calculate the container's total gross mass.

But who is responsible for declaring the VGM?

The shipper is legally responsible for providing the accurate VGM for each and every packed container delivered to the shipping line.

No packed container is allowed to be loaded onto a ship unless a VGM has been provided.

A missing or incorrect VGM declaration can lead to rejections and delays of containers loading a vessel. This may result in a container being rolled to the next sailing. Subsequently, additional charges may apply in the form of storage, demurrage, rebooking fees, and/or emergency weighing at the terminal.

Fines, penalties, insurance validity complications as well as legal action can also be the result of serious VGM compliance issues. It is important from a health and safety perspective to ensure all those operating at sea and around shipping vessels remain safe.

If you have any questions, or need help completing a VGM for your export container(s), please reach out to the Hobbs Global Team; 📨 info@hobbsglobal.co.nz

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Emergency Bunker Surcharges (EBS) & FAF

As the situation in the Middle East continues to evolve, carriers are now starting to implement Emergency Bunker (Fuel) Surcharges. CMA CGM, ANL, ONE, Maersk, and Hapag Lloyd have all issued notices of EBS charges to take effect over the coming weeks. As an indication: Maersk has landed on US$200/20' and US$400/40' for dry containers, and US$300/20' and US$600/40' for reefer containers, to take effect from 25th March. CMA CGM has landed on US$150/20' and US$300/40' for dry containers, and US$180/20' and US$360/40' for reefer containers, to take effect from 16th March. ONE has landed on US$160/20' and US$320/40' for dry containers, and US$210/20' and US$420/40' for reefer containers, to take effect from 24th March. Please note these surcharges will apply in addition to any current quotes where applicable. We will endeavour to include these in quotes going forward where possible. Fuel Adjustment Factor (FAF) for domestic carriers has additionally spiked. Carriers historically have adjusted FAF monthly to account for the movement of domestic fuel prices, but the uncertainty caused by the war in the Middle East has sparked many to move to a week-by-week adjustment. We will continue to monitor this and apply accordingly. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the Hobbs Global Team!

by Hobbs • 12 MAR 2026

Easter and ANZAC Operational Hours

With Easter and ANZAC fast approaching, we'd like to advise of our operational hours during these time periods. Good Friday, 3rd April - Easter Monday, 6th April - Hobbs Global will be closed. Tuesday, 7th April - Normal Operations to Resume. ANZAC Day Observed - Monday, 27th April - Hobbs Global will be closed. Please ensure all shipments, clearances, orders and other requirements etc are advised well before these dates to allow for sufficient time to organise accordingly. As always, please reach out to the Hobbs Global Team if you have any questions or concerns.

by Hobbs • 10 MAR 2026

Update: Middle East Conflict

Previously advised parts of the central Middle Eastern air corridor remain largely closed as war continues through the Middle East. Tel Aviv, Damascus, Kuwait, Bahrain, Baghdad, Doha Tehran are all affected, as Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates continue with embargos in place. Many planes are at this stage still locked out of returning to the Middle East and grounded at airports around the world as the situation continues to develop. Global capacity is starting to feel the flow-on effect of the closed airspace through the Middle East, with alternative routing attempting to absorb the pressure. Please continue to expect delays as the airfreight and seafreight routing challenges continue to evolve. MFAT announced last week that exports to the Persian Gulf represent 3% of New Zealand's total exports. While not considered high, these are dominated by dairy into the UAE and Saudi Arabia; key markets for our whole milk powder and butter products. 22% of New Zealand's fertiliser is additionally imported from the region. As a result of the ongoing struggles to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz, fuel prices are starting to become affected on New Zealand shores. While New Zealand doesn't directly import crude oil from the Gulf region, Asian countries which we import refined product from have high dependencies on the Middle Eastern oil supply. We've had notice in the last few days of diesel prices expecting to jump by 40+ cents per litre; these have already increased by 20.6 cents or 11% in the last 28 days. We expect higher Bulker (fuel) costs to follow suit as shipping lines look to recover costs associated with new routing as well as their increasing fuel costs. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Hobbs Global Team.

by Hobbs • 8 MAR 2026