Port Cut-off Tracker
Doc, VGM and gate cut-offs for every booking on one expiry board — red before the vessel says no.
Sources & references
- SOLAS VI/2 — VGM requirement
- Carrier booking confirirmations / port cut-off advisories
This tracker stores data locally in your browser — nothing is uploaded. It complements (not replaces) carrier track-and-trace: enter milestones from your carrier's notifications to keep one consolidated, private view across all providers.
Every export booking carries a fan of deadlines that all precede the sailing: shipping instructions (SI) cut-off, VGM cut-off, gate/CY cut-off, plus earlier ones for reefers, hazmat documentation and security filings (AMS/ACI). Miss any single one and the cargo doesn't sail — the booking rolls, with your name on the cause. This board tracks each cut-off as its own dated row with red/amber/green urgency.
About Port Cut-off Tracker
The design choice that matters: one row per cut-off, not per booking, because the deadlines differ by days and the failure modes differ entirely (a late SI is a documentation desk problem; a late gate-in is a trucking problem). The 2-day amber window matches export reality — an amber SI today means the customs broker and shipper data need chasing this morning. Most rolls blamed on carriers are actually cut-off misses on the shipper's side, which makes this humble board one of the highest-ROI tools in the export workflow: the cost is one minute per booking to load the dates from the booking confirmation; the saving is the 7-day roll you didn't cause.
How to use Port Cut-off Tracker
- 1Add each record with its expiry date — data stays in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
- 2Statuses compute automatically: red for expired, amber for expiring soon, green for valid.
- 3Use the three summary counters to prioritise renewals before deadlines bite.
- 4Export the CSV to share the matrix with your team, customer or auditor.
Why use Port Cut-off Tracker?
- ✓Automatic red/amber/green expiry statuses with a configurable warning window
- ✓Summary counters show valid / expiring / expired at a glance
- ✓CSV export for sharing with teams, customers and auditors
- ✓Data persists locally in your browser — private by design
Frequently asked questions
What are the typical cut-offs before a sailing?+
Working backward from ETD: gate/CY cut-off (container physically in, commonly 1–3 days before), VGM cut-off (at or before gate cut-off), SI/doc cut-off (often 2–4 days before), and earlier still for hazmat approval and reefer gate-in. US-bound cargo adds AMS 24 h before LOADING at the foreign port. Each carrier/port pair publishes its own — the booking confirmation is the source of truth.
What happens if I miss the VGM cut-off?+
No VGM, no load — SOLAS makes a verified gross mass a hard condition for vessel stowage, and terminals will not load an unverified box. The container rolls to the next sailing even if it's physically sitting at the terminal. VGM is also the easiest cut-off to never miss: it can usually be submitted electronically the day the box is weighed.
Why track cut-offs separately from the booking?+
Because they fail independently and belong to different teams: SI is documentation, VGM is the weighbridge/packer, gate-in is trucking. A single 'booking due date' hides which deadline is actually at risk. Separate rows mean the amber alert lands on the right desk with days to act — which is the entire difference between a chase and a roll.
Do cut-offs move when vessels are delayed?+
Often but not automatically, and never assume: carriers may extend gate cut-off against a slipped ETD while SI/AMS deadlines hold (they're tied to processes, not just the ship). Extensions come as booking amendments or port advisories. The safe pattern: treat published cut-offs as fixed until the carrier confirms otherwise in writing, then update the row's date here.
Embed Port Cut-off Tracker on your website
Want Port Cut-off Trackeron your own site? Paste this snippet into any HTML page — it's free, with no API key or sign-up. The tool loads in an iframe and keeps working exactly as it does here.
<iframe src="https://tooljolt.com/tools/port-cutoff-tracker" width="100%" height="640" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:12px;max-width:680px" title="Port Cut-off Tracker — ToolJolt" loading="lazy"></iframe>Related Logistics tools
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