The roots of NCB

CHANGE WAS NEEDED

CARGO • NATIONAL CARGO BUREAU CELEBRATES ITS 70TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2022. THINGS HAVE CHANGED A LOT OVER THAT TIME, WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF DIGITAL TOOLS

IN THE YEARS leading up to the incorporation of the National Cargo Bureau (NCB) in 1952, there was a string of maritime disasters brought about by the shipment of dangerous goods – including ammonium nitrate, a very common cargo used as a fertiliser or explosive.

The deadliest industrial incident in US history happened on 16 April 1947 when the Liberty ship Grandcamp exploded in the port at Texas City, Texas (above). It was one of history’s largest non-nuclear explosions. A fire discovered by stevedores preparing to resume loading of ammonium nitrate aboard the ship resulted in the first of two disastrous explosions which destroyed the entire dock area, numerous oil tanks, the Monsanto Chemical plant, numerous dwellings and business buildings. The second explosion, some 16 hours later, resulted from a fire in ammonium nitrate aboard the vessel High Flyer. At least 581 people were killed and the disaster drew the first class action lawsuit against the US government. The loss of property excluding marine (which was not ascertainable) is estimated to have been $35m and $40m.

Although the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) regulations were first published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in 1938, at the time very little was known about how to handle, store and transport such dangerous substances and safety was very low down on the list of priorities. It was obvious that there was a need for uniform standards and regulations to stop such disasters and loss of life occurring.

REGULATORY RESPONSES The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which began life in 1958 as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMCO), had a remit in 1965 to facilitate cooperation and the exchange of information among governments on all technical matters affecting shipping and to achieve the highest practicable standards of maritime safety and efficient navigation, with special responsibility for the safety of life at sea. In that year the IMCO Assembly approved three codes: the revised International Code of Signals, the Code of Safe Practice for Bulk Cargoes (other than grain) and the InterGovernmental Maritime Consultative Organisation Code, later renamed the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.

In 1975 the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA) was enacted as the principal federal law in the US regulating the transport of hazardous materials.

By 2004, the IMDG Code became mandatory for the carriage of dangerous goods by sea for all signatory nations to the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), after previously being a recommendatory instrument. The Code, which applies to the transport of dangerous goods in packaged form, covers matters such as packing, container traffic and stowage, with particular reference to the segregation of incompatible substances. It was developed to enhance and harmonise the safe carriage of dangerous goods and to prevent pollution to the environment.

In 2011, the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code entered into force, mandatory under the provisions of SOLAS. The Code addresses the prime hazards associated with the shipment of bulk cargoes relating to structure damage due to improper cargo distribution, loss or reduction of stability during a voyage and chemical reaction of cargoes.

A ROLE FOR NCB In 1952 the National Cargo Bureau was incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation to assist the US Coast Guard (USCG) in discharging its responsibilities under the 1948 International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (superseded by the 1960 and 1974 SOLAS Conventions). NCB is a continuation and amplification on a broader base of inspection services formerly performed by the Board of Underwriters of New York and the Board of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco, with a mission of ‘Safety of Life and Cargo at Sea’. With offices in 18 US port locations, NCB can operate on a nationwide basis, helping to enhance safety and ensure compliance with regulations through inspection and surveying activities predominantly relating to hazardous materials incidents and the stability of ships carrying bulk cargoes.

Several CFR Titles explain the importance of NCB’s role: Title 7 (Agriculture) requires a signed copy of the NCB Certificate of Readiness (Vessel Hold Inspection Certificate) and Certificate of Loading for all noncontainerised cargoes; in Title 19 (Customs Duties), the Commissioner of US Customs has designated NCB as a certifying authority for containers and road vehicles; in Title 46 (shipping within the US for USCG, US Maritime Administration and US Maritime Commission) USCG recognises NCB for the purpose of issuing certificates of loading; Title 49 (Transportation of hazardous materials) authorises NCB to assist USCG in the inspection of vessels for suitability of loading hazardous materials, examination of hazardous materials, making recommendations for stowage requirements of hazardous materials cargo and issuance of certificates of loading setting forth that the stowage of hazardous materials is in accordance with the requirements of subchapter Assignment and certification.

In addition, certificates issued by NCB for bulk cargoes may be accepted as evidence of compliance with the IMSBC Code and US regulations under 46 CFR.

As part of its remit, NCB has also developed training courses to inform and educate in an effort to prevent incidents before they occur. USCG approves NCB’s range of self-study courses and offers sea service credits to students who complete the courses satisfactorily.

DIGITAL SOLUTIONS It is impossible to inspect every container because of the sheer volume of traffic. Using a projection based on container cargo inspection data collected by NCB, it is estimated that there are more than 500,000 containers shipped annually with poorly packaged or stowed dangerous goods, any of which could lead to leaks and/or fires.

In 2018 NCB joined forces with UK-based Exis Technologies, a global leader in IT solutions for the management of dangerous goods in sea transport. With the help of industry partners, such as the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS - www.cinsnet. com), they are helping to tackle the issues at the root of ship fires, including poor stowage and misdeclared/undeclared dangerous goods, by the use of new digital tools.

Hazcheck Inspections was launched in 2018 as a web-based container inspections database and access portal, which now has in excess of 100,000 data records and is constantly growing. In the same year, following the Maersk Honam fire, Maersk contacted NCB to ask it to inspect 100 inbound containers. To collect more meaningful data, NCB offered 500 container inspections to the five board members of CINS as part of a Container Inspection Safety Initiative. High inspection fail rates highlighted the problems of improperly packed containers and other issues. As a result, NCB produced a White Paper setting out 12 holistic approach recommendations for shipping lines.

In 2020, Hazcheck Detect, a new real-time cargo screening tool that allows noncompliant cargo to be viewed within seconds, was launched. The tool, which identifies undeclared and misdeclared cargo, stops containers from being loaded onto ships that previously could have been the cause of a ship fire. Each month 25 million bookings are screened and 30,000 suspicious cargoes detected. This stops 40 to 50 containers from being loaded each week. Maersk was the tool’s first customer, followed by ONE and Hapag-Lloyd.

In 2021, NCB started to carry out remote inspections. The team of NCB surveyors, who offer decades of container inspection experience, are now able to review and inspect container transport units remotely, using a live video option, based on the material the client captures and uploads to the platform on their mobile phone. Inspections are possible on a global scale particularly in locations where dangerous goods expertise may not be available. To date, NCB has carried out remote inspections for Evergreen, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.

The last 70 years has seen an incredible amount of progress regarding both regulations and technology. Moving forward through the next decade, data sets collected from the new tools, along with machine learning and AI techniques, will be able to improve the detection of invalid and dangerous shipment by creating new rules and search terms. natcargo.org