SI, VGM and gate cut-off: the three deadlines behind every sailing

A booking confirmation lists a vessel and an ETD, but the dates that decide whether a container sails are earlier and less visible. There are three that matter on almost every export, plus the customs clearance that has to land in between.

The three cut-offs at a glance

What is the SI cut-off?

Shipping instructions are what the line uses to draft the bill of lading: shipper, consignee, notify party, cargo description, marks, weights, container and seal numbers. Missing the SI cut-off can mean a late BL, an amendment fee, or in the worst case a roll.

What is the VGM cut-off?

Since July 2016, SOLAS has required a verified gross mass for every packed export container before it is loaded. The shipper is responsible for declaring it. No VGM by the cut-off, no loading, however early the box arrived.

What is the gate cut-off?

The laden container must be inside the terminal by the gate or CY cut-off, typically a day or two before the vessel's ETD, as set by the terminal and the line. At Indian ports the box also needs the port's entry permission, and it can only be loaded once customs has granted the Let Export Order.

The vessel's ETD is the last date on the booking and the least useful one to plan around.

Why do cut-offs move?

When a vessel is delayed or advanced, every cut-off moves with it, and the update often arrives as one more email in a long thread. A box planned against yesterday's cut-off can miss today's. The defence is to keep the cut-offs on the job itself, next to the booking, where every desk reads the same dates. That is how Freightflow shows them.