CargoSmart has introduced a free mobile app which helps shippers collect and share container weight information.

According to CargoSmart, the app, called BoxSnap, simplifies and expedites the process by using optical character recognition technology. Truckers and cargo-weighing parties can simply take a photo of a container, check the captured container number and tare weight, and share it with the parties responsible for filing the VGM information.

“CargoSmart’s mobile app for VGM compliance helps connect global supply chain parties and transform the physical aspects of ocean shipment management into digital formats to achieve greater efficiencies,” said Lionel Louie, chief commercial officer of CargoSmart Limited. “We continue to develop solutions that leverage mobile technology, empowering shipment parties with new ways to interact and manage their cargo throughout the logistics cycle.”

Shippers are able to receive the weight information as soon as it is available, either when a container is packed at a warehouse or when it is at a weighing station. This helps them comply with the new requirements in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, which went into effect on July 1, 2016 and which state that the verified gross mass of a container must be provided before it can be loaded onto a vessel.

Almost 500 people have downloaded the app since trials began in June, according to CargoSmart.