SOLAS Chapter VI, Regulation 2 sets out one of the most frequently misunderstood documentation duties in maritime cargo operations: the shipper’s obligation to furnish the master with adequate cargo information before loading. What often gets missed is that this single regulation actually splits into two separate documentation tracks depending on how the cargo is carried — packaged general cargo follows sub-chapter 1.9 of the CSS Code, while solid bulk cargo follows Section 4 of the IMSBC Code. Layered on top of this is the container Verified Gross Mass requirement, and, for cargoes carrying a competent-authority exemption from dangerous goods provisions, the question of exactly where that exemption certificate needs to be attached. This flowchart walks through the full decision path: packaged vs. bulk, which VI/2 sub-paragraph and reference document applies, whether VGM is triggered, and whether an IMDG 5.4.4.2 or IMSBC 1.5 exemption certificate needs to travel with the cargo information.

Packaged vs. bulk  →  VI/2 sub-paragraph  →  form  →  VGM  →  where an exemption certificate attaches (IMDG 5.4.4.2 for packaged · IMSBC 1.5 for bulk)

SOLAS VI/2 (paras 1–6) · CSS Code (res. A.714(17)) sub-ch. 1.9 · IMSBC Code Sections 1.5 & 4 · IMDG Code 5.4.4.2 (Amdt 42-24)  |  shashikallada.com