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delegations with information on these issues to present it at the next session. The Danube Commission reported on trends in navigation in 2021; there was a sharp drop in cruise passenger vessels as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, although the decline in cargo vessels seen in 2020 had levelled off.
THE JOINT MEETING of Experts on the Regulations annexed to the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways – the ADN Safety Committee – held its 39th session this past 24 to 28 January. It was chaired by Henk Langenberg (Netherlands) with Bernd Birklhuber (Austria)
Once more, the session was hampered by ongoing Covid-19 response measures and the UN’s financial constraints. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) is optimistic of being able to return to normal business in the second half of the year. Pending that normalisation, the Safety Committee held its January session in
IMPLEMENTATION AND INTERPRETATION The Netherlands followed up on discussions at the previous session with a formal proposal to include specific provisions for the carriage of UN 1288 Shale oil in tank vessels, following a request for special authorisation in its own country. The Safety Committee found this agreeable, after being assured by FuelsEurope that shale oil with a high water content is not normally transported as it is uneconomic to do so. The main changes agreed are the insertion of ‘T’ in column (8) of Table A in Chapter 3.2 for both UN 1288 entries (packing groups II and III), and the addition of corresponding entries in Table C in Chapter 3.2. The Recommended ADN Classification Societies had been asked to review the Safety Committee’s interpretations, given at the 35th session, on acceptable ventilation systems specified in 9.3.3.12.2. Having done so, the group took issue with the idea that hatch covers can be used as a ventilation system, since class rules require a ventilation pipe for void spaces and also that an opened hatch cover is regarded as an ‘undefined opening’ with respect to stability calculations. The Safety Committee agreed to amend its interpretation in line with the Societies’ comments and to publish that interpretation on the UN ECE website. It felt there was no need to amend the current transitional provisions in 1.6.7.2.2.2. The European Barge Union (EBU) and European Skippers Organisation (ESO) appealed for a rationalisation of the provisions for the transport of carbon dioxide, ethylene
as vice-chair. The meeting was attended by representatives of 13 countries, the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR), the Danube Commission, the European Commission and Transport Community, and nine non-governmental organisations.
hybrid format. At its July 2021 session, the ECE Executive Committee had asked for input from its subsidiary bodies on the development of measures that will promote a circular economy and the sustainable use of natural resources; the Safety Committee invited
and methane (LNG) – all gases carried as refrigerated liquids. All require a barge type G,1,1 with refrigeration system but, whereas UN 1038 Ethylene and UN 1972 Methane are assigned transport provisions 2, 31 and 42, UN 2187 Carbon dioxide is assigned 31 and 39. The Safety Committee welcomed the
RIVER CLEANUP INLAND WATERWAYS • WHILE THE ADN SAFETY COMMITTEE ADHERES WHERE POSSIBLE TO HARMONISATION WITH RID AND ADR, IT HAS PLENTY OF OTHER MATTERS TO CONSIDER
HCB MONTHLY | APRIL 2022
