HCB Magazine November 2019

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OFF AND ON SEARCHING FOR VISIBILITY ACROSS THE SUPPLY CHAIN  PLATFORMS PARTNER FOR PERFORMANCE  READYING FOR DECARBONISATION  NEW REGULATIONS COMING SOON

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P R O F E S S I O N A L

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EDITOR’S LETTER

It is good to be able to spend some time at the desk after a hectic

Any closed loop system relies on all participants in the

few weeks attending conferences around the world. These events

circular supply chain to do their part to keep the loop going.

can merge into one another after a while, particularly when they

In many supply chains, the weakest link may well be the

are often covering much of the same ground – although if all the

consumer – and they need to be incentivised in some way to

organisers are agreeing on the hot topics of the year, then they are

play their part. Perhaps, it was suggested, in the future we

probably all making the right call.

will not buy shoes and clothes but merely pay a monthly ‘rent’

After the past two years, which focused very much on the use of digital technologies to enhance efficiency in the chemical supply chain, this year the agreed topic was sustainability. This might

to the manufacturer, to ensure that we take them back to the store at the end of their useful life and get a replacement.

There are, though, two obvious examples of a closed

seem like an old topic come back to haunt us but it was obvious

loop system in the chemical supply chain. One long-

that, for all the talk of sustainability and all the pages of annual

established loop is provided by some of the major packaging

sustainability reports generated (probably at a high cost in terms

manufacturers, who have put in place networks to collect

of greenhouse gas emissions), nothing much has been achieved.

and return used IBCs so they can be cleaned and

Perhaps, some wondered, digitisation may have a role to play in

remanufactured. This month we report on Mauser’s extended

doing something concrete towards improving the sustainability

range of packagings manufactured from post-consumer

record of the petrochemical sector?

resin, which takes that on to the realm of plastics drums.

One practical method of improving sustainability is to move towards a circular economy. Instead of the old pattern of ‘extract-manufacture-dispose’, the circular economy has a

And, of course, steel drums and IBCs have long been retrieved and re-used.

The tank container is another closed loop packaging; meant

pattern of ‘reuse-remanufacture-recycle’. Closing this loop

to last for decades, these packagings are valuable items in

leads to much better utilisation of finite resources and, along

themselves and therefore are meant to be re-used many

the way, also helps the supply chain, since there is a built-in

times over. Which makes it very strange that some chemical

backhaul cargo.

manufacturers opt for single-use packagings, at least for their

But it is difficult to find examples of the circular economy in the

non-hazardous products. Flexitanks are the polar opposite of

chemical industry. Extensive discussion during EPCA’s Annual

tank containers: single-use bags with no apparent return and

Meeting in Berlin last month did point to a few: one manufacturer

recycling loop, and are often used once and sent to landfill.

of sports shoes, for instance, is now making a trainer from a single

Those using them should consider whether this fits their

polymer, to make it easier to recycle, and Ineos has run a pilot project

sustainability goals.

to turn used yoghurt pots back into virgin-quality polystyrene.

Peter Mackay

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UP FRONT 03

CONTENTS VOLUME 40

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NUMBER 11

UP FRONT Letter from the Editor 30 Years Ago Learning by Training

TANK CONTAINERS Tank people Report on ITCO’s Amsterdam meeting On the go A busy year for Suttons

TANKS Lead the way Fort Vale intros new valve ideas Stop thief VisiLevel helps avoid pilfering News bulletin – tanks and logistics

DIGITISATION Power of three ECTA works on visibility Ordered delivery TCF partners with chembid Perfect sight FourKites expands with Ocean Insights News bulletin – digitisation

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07

STORAGE TERMINALS The terminal zone Report from the UK TSA conference Success in Asia Tank Storage Asia report Missed connections The importance of API couplers News bulletin – terminal equipment News bulletin – storage terminals

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COURSES & CONFERENCES Training courses Winter Gulf trip Looking ahead to GPCA Forum Conference diary

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12 INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING Round and round Mauser extends recycled range Containers for Russia Greif invests in IBC capacity

In peril Responding to explosives at sea Held to account China expects better compliance

REGULATIONS Awake at the wheel WP15 handles ADR update On second thoughts Joint Meeting revisits decisions New year, new rules Changes in IATA’s new DGR

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BACK PAGE Not otherwise specified

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Editor–in–Chief Peter Mackay Email: peter.mackay@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 7769 685 085

SAFETY Incident Log Second city sights The best from Labelmaster’s event

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Campaigns Director Craig Vye Email: craig.vye@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4014

NEXT MONTH Reporting back from EPCA Annual Meeting World markets for tank containers Plastics drum manufacturing review Focus on gas shipping and storage

Managing Editor Stephen Mitchell Email: stephen.mitchell@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4045 Designer Jochen Viegener

Deputy Editor Alex Roberts Email: alex.roberts@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4035

Commercial Director Ben Newall Email: ben.newall@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4036

Production Manager Binita Wilton Email: binita.wilton@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4048

Cargo Media Ltd Marlborough House 298 Regents Park Road London N3 2SZ

Commercial Manager Serena Lander Email: serena.lander@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4006

HCB Monthly is published by Cargo Media Ltd. While the information and articles in HCB are published in good faith and every effort is made to check accuracy, readers should verify facts and statements directly with official sources before acting upon them, as the publisher can accept no responsibility in this respect.

ISSN 2059-5735 www.hcblive.com

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30 YEARS AGO A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER 1989

Every so often we field an enquiry from someone – who has a better memory than anyone here – looking for an electronic copy of an article from way back. It is unfortunately the case that it took HCB some time to catch up with the opportunities offered by information technology to build a library of electronic versions of the magazine so the answer is often “afraid not”.

Indeed, these monthly columns looking back 30 years rest on the availability – often through the good offices of former contributor Herbert J Kennard – of a hard copy of the issue. So it is again this month and our copy of the November 1989 issue was so well thumbed that our designers have had to work had to provide a comparatively clean version of the cover.

Inside, though, there was the usual mix of articles designed to keep readers up to speed with developments in the movement of dangerous goods, some of them now, with the benefit of three decades’ worth of hindsight, decidedly quaint. There was, for example, a report on the port of Hamburg’s Dakosy computer system, designed to provide an effective means of streamlining the movement of shipping documentation, illustrated with a picture (in black and white, of course) of a young woman apparently very happy to be sat at a desk in from of a small computer screen (presumably in black and green) atop a unit with two floppy disk drives.

On more familiar ground, HCB’s November 1989 issue carried an article by Dr Andrew Kruszewski of the Warren Spring Laboratory on the phenomenon of the liquefaction of solid bulk cargoes (notably ores and concentrates) during transport by sea, something that is still a frequent

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

cause of ship losses, particularly in south-east Asia. Dr Kruszewski had trawled the archives, coming up with the case of the Scandinavian vessel Aquilla, which had a close escape when its iron ore concentrate cargo liquefied during a passage in 1910. It seems clear that the causes of cargo liquefaction have been well known for many decades, so the fact that accidents continue to happen can only be put down to poor practice – often compounded by commercial considerations.

Another topic that is all too familiar these days is the inspection of freight containers and the poor practice that such inspections reveal. HCB reported in 1989 on a programme put in place by the authorities in Finland, mirroring that established by the US Coast Guard, to inspect freight containers for infractions of the dangerous goods regulations. It will come as no surprise to readers to find that the results of that programme showed a significant number of boxes that had missing or defective documentation or marking and placarding errors.

In his editorial that month, Mike Corkhill, founding editor of HCB, reminded readers of the case of the containership Asia Freighter, aboard which four crewmen were overcome by fumes as they inspected the security of containers as their vessel pitched and rolled through a storm off Land’s End, UK in 1974. Response personnel eventually tracked down the source to two loose cylinders of arsine gas that were rolling around inside a container; one was leaking through a damaged valve. The shipment had been improperly declared and the container was not properly placarded.

Does this sound familiar?

UP FRONT 05

LEARNING BY TRAINING

By Arend van Campen

SULLY & THE HUMAN FACTOR Recently I watched the movie Sully with Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart.

Perhaps you have seen it too? It made me ask this question: who do incident investigators trust more - people or computers?

For those who haven’t seen the movie or know the story of the US Airways flight 1549, I will briefly tell you what happened. Right after take-off from La Guardia Airport in New York, the plane encountered a flock of birds, several of which flew right into both jet engines, causing them to stop running. With no thrust available anymore the Airbus A-320 lost altitude fast and could only glide towards destruction because it could not return back to La Guardia nor reach Teterboro airport. The only option would be to land on water of the Hudson River.

That decision saved the lives of 155 people. Captain Sullenberger became a hero overnight. It is what happened after this remarkable landing about which I wanted to write today. Airline and government authorities claimed that the pilot could have and therefore should have landed at either airport because a computer simulation said so. Immediately Sully and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles were accused of recklessness, jeopardising the passengers and crew, and destroying the airplane. Of course, Sully and his crew could not believe what

35 seconds, decide that in order to have a chance, the only option would be to land on water. His contemplation, thinking, empathy, deliberation, brain functioning, imagination, concern, friendship, just to name a few ‘human only’ abilities, gave him the correct conclusion.

The question you may ask is: would a computer simulation be able to do the same? Modern times may provide us with computer-generated, algorithmic probability patterns, statistical chance calculations, even real-life situation simulations, but they miss one crucial, indispensable factor: the human one. Through complexity science, we can understand that technological systems only predict linearity, but can’t foresee nonlinearity, which is simply too complex. Computer simulation does not include human decision making, because it can’t.

In our world of transport there is talk of unmanned ships, unmanned trucks or unmanned airplanes to move our goods from A to B. Imagine what would have happened if an autonomous airplane had flown that day? Would it have landed on water or would it have been programmed to always land on an airstrip? If that is the case, it would have destroyed a large part of New York, because the human factor was not programmed in the software running the Airbus. Perhaps a good idea is to think about re-humanisation rather than de-humanisation,

they heard. Their handling, split-second decision making, and successful landing were questioned, because a computer had decided so. Their very humanity seemed irrelevant.

In an official hearing it was this ‘Human Factor’ which was proposed by Sully as the decisive element. His 40-odd years of experience and the help of his co-pilot, his numerous landings and the overall control over this airplane type, made him, within

because that is what is happening. The uncertainty principle can’t be programmed, only people can maximise safety.

This is the latest in a series of articles by Arend van Campen, founder of TankTerminalTraining. More information on the company’s activities can be found at www.tankterminaltraining.com. Those interested in responding personally can contact him directly at arendvc@tankterminaltraining.com.

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HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

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TANK PEOPLE REPORT • ITCO’S AMSTERDAM MEETING DREW A LARGE CROWD, KEEN TO HEAR HOW RECENT ACCIDENTS AND REGULATORY ACTIVITY WILL IMPACT THEM AND THEIR OPERATIONS The disaster aboard the containership MSC Flaminia in July 2012 is still causing waves in industry. A court judgment in New York last year divided liability for the incident between Deltech, manufacturer of the cargo of divinyl benzene, which is thought to have almost certainly been the seat of the initial fire aboard the ship, and Stolt Tank Containers, in its role as an intermediary in the transport and operator of the tank containers that the product was stowed in.

The realisation of the potentially enormous

container operators and their partners in the supply chain was perhaps one reason for the big turnout at the annual members’ meeting of the International Tank Container Organisation (ITCO), which took place in Amsterdam on 30 September and 1 October this year. Nearly 150 people attended the event, which in its open sessions featured a panel discussion moderated by HCB’s editor-in-chief Peter Mackay and a series of presentations on topics of crucial interest to the sector.

Delegates were welcomed by Reg Lee,

liabilities that could land at the doors of tank

ITCO president, and the format was explained

by Patrick Hicks, general secretary of the Organisation.

 THE FULL IMPLICATIONS OF THE MSC FLAMINIA INCIDENT AND COURT JUDGMENT ARE ONLY NOW BECOMING APPARENT

THE ROOT CAUSE While there was more to talk about than just the MSC Flaminia incident, the keynote session

started with a presentation by Peregrine Storrs-Fox, risk management director of the TT Club, a mutual insurance group with a focus on dangerous goods in the international maritime supply chain, who recapped the events that led to the fire and explosion aboard the vessel, with the loss of three lives, and the attempts made to save the ship and to investigate the cause.

He also gave some indication of the extraordinary length of the court case, the results of which are still subject to appeal.

It was, though, heartening to hear from Storrs-Fox that the MSC Flaminia case is one of the very few that has been directly linked to tank containers, which in general are an exceptionally safe way of moving dangerous products. That does, though, not prevent this incident having repercussions arising from the court case.

For a start, the judge who made the allocation of liability was very clear that the regulations governing the transport of dangerous goods merely set the baseline for compliance. Shippers and their intermediaries should of course comply with the regulatory requirements but in addition should make sure to provide all relevant information to other parties in the supply chain, whether or not it is required by regulation. Storrs-Fox »

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posed a question: what is the implication of that statement?

What is more, how is all that relevant information to be transmitted? Should it be included in the safety data sheet (SDS)? Has the SDS now become a transport document?

What is the role of IT in matching the SDS with the Dangerous Goods Declaration (DGD)? These are all difficult questions to answer. The SDS is not designed to be a transport document – it is supposed to provide information to the ‘supply and use’ sectors further downstream and lists the inherent chemical and physical properties of a substance; while there is some information relevant to transport, this ought to be limited to its classification under the transport regulations.

The underlying problem, Storrs-Fox posited, is that parties across the supply chain are finding it difficult to interpret the regulations.

Why is that? Is it because the regulations are so complex? Or is there a lack of expertise? It is probably a mixture of both.

DOING IT RIGHT ITCO had done well to get someone from Dow Chemical to come and speak to the audience about how the chemical major is addressing safety in the transport chain. Maayke van Noort, global senior ES&S mode leader for marine bulk and terminals at Dow, explained the company’s 2025 Transportation Stewardship programme, its version of product stewardship for the logistics sector. This fits in with Dow’s broader sustainability drive and focuses on ‘control management’ rather than ‘consequence management’.

Van Noort also explained Dow’s Transportation Safety and Security Outreach programme, which aims to share the lessons of incidents in the supply chain across its logistics service providers (LSPs). It does, perhaps, offer a model for others in the industry to follow, and van Noort was only too happy to share the information.

The stewardship programme includes specific additional risk assessments for high-hazard products, van Noort said, and this

includes polymerisers – although she also noted that monomers do not make up a large proportion of Dow’s shipments. These risk assessments do, though, point to a need for particular measures to be taken during transport, including for instance the use of ‘smart tanks’ with temperature control. The main drawback to the use of such tanks is the limited connectivity available during a sea voyage.

Dow is also trying to limit the storage of loaded tank containers during shipment, either by getting them faster to the consignee or by transferring their contents into bulk storage.

Van Noort was not the first during the event – nor would she be the last – to stress the importance of communication between all parties in the supply chain, not least between the ‘shipper’ – the manufacturer or supplier – and the tank container operator; the MSC Flaminia case had highlighted the fact that under US law the tank container operator takes the role of the ‘person offering the tank’ and as such is in effect the shipper, with all the legal obligations that follow.

WHAT THE PANEL THINKS Van Noort then took her seat alongside Storrs-Fox and three other panellists: Martin Levitt, technical director of Den Hartogh Global Logistics; James Rawlinson, group technical services manager at M&S Logistics; and Colin Rubery, technical secretary of ITCO. The panel began by discussing the particular obligations under special provision 386 in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code and the issues that it raises in terms of the transport of polymerising substances in tank containers.

As should by now be clear, implementation of those obligations requires communication between all the parties, including the shipping line. More specifically for this audience, the tank container operator has an obvious duty of care that extends beyond the strict provisions of the IMDG Code.

In terms of the use of the SDS in the transport chain, the panel agreed that data relevant to logistics is limited; both the panel and contributors from the floor also agreed that the accuracy of classification information on the SDS is variable at best. There are also

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frequent cases of – perhaps wilful – misdeclaration. The audience was urged to evaluate all SDSs they are provided with and to ask for missing data and query anything that looks wrong.

Given the importance of information sharing, the panel also discussed the growing position of fourth-party logistics providers (4PLs) in the chain and whether this was causing problems.

Properly vetted and managed, like any partner in the chain, there should be no issue but the supply chain is already complex and the use of 4PLs does add yet more complexity. Electronic data transmission has the potential to make life easier for all concerned but it was also stressed that this is not a panacea - all parties still need to know what information is needed and have a duty of care to make sure it is shared.

It was relatively easy to get the panel to agree that safety in the transport of dangerous goods in tank containers requires a solid approach to quality management by all parties. The recruitment of suitable personnel is becoming a problem but all parties can help by ensuring those that they do hire are provided with full and effective training. But when it comes down to it, it’s all about effective communication.

The day ended with a very enjoyable networking reception at the meeting’s venue, the Hilton Apollolaan, with plenty of local beer and foreign wines, that kept attendees together for lengthy discussion of the afternoon’s events.

KNOW YOUR RISKS Suitably revivified, the meeting reconvened the following morning for a review of the panel discussions and a series of presentations.

Anyone still feeling a little sleepy was roused by Peter Mackay, who spoke about the need to learn from the lessons of accidents in the past, especially as the older heads in the business reach retirement (or pass over into the world of consultancy). For instance, he reminded the audience of the Flixborough disaster in the UK,

 ABOVE: IF PERSONNEL HAVE TO WORK AT HEIGHT, THEY SHOULD HAVE PROPER PROTECTION AGAINST FALLS

which led to the Control of Major Industrial Hazards regulations; this took place in 1974 and, on the basis of a show of hands, at least half the audience were not even born then.

Capt Howard Snaith, general manager of the Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI), explained the role of CDI in inspecting and auditing procedures to improve safety in the supply chain. CDI was initially established to provide a consistent auditing programme for chemical and gas tankers and soon developed a parallel system for storage terminals. More recently it embarked on an ambitious project to offer audits along the marine packed cargo supply chain, including tank container operators. Snaith offered this observation: the safe transport of your tank container is only as safe as the container it’s stowed next to. In other words, everyone in the supply chain is at risk from those who do not do things properly.

Snaith spoke more about ‘risk’: it is the

do that requires knowledgeable, experienced people who can define the protocols that establish risk; and properly trained people to collect the necessary information. Here again, the dangers posed by the loss of expertise were apparent.

The real threat to the global containerised supply chain, Snaith said, is that only about 3 per cent of all containers are actually inspected. Given that there are more than 200 containership casualties every year, peaking at 267 in 2016, according to Lloyds Casualty Reporting Service, there is a real risk that any shipment may get caught up in an incident.

This is where CDI’s International Marine Packed Cargo Audit Scheme (IMPCAS) aims to make a difference, and Snaith urged those in the room to get involved. He ended with a brief advertisement for CDI’s latest publication, Packaged Chemicals by Sea: Risk Mitigation, clearly a must-read for this audience.

chance of something happening but, he said, not all risks are immediately apparent, hence the need for effective oversight. Risk management is the implementation of processes or systems designed to reduce the risk of an incident in everyday operations; to be effective, risks need to be assessed. And to

KEEP OFF THE TOP One often overlooked risk in the supply chain is presented by the need to work at height.

Evert de Jong, joint managing director of the European Chemical Transport Association (ECTA), reviewed the European legislation »

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dealing with working at height as well as ITCO’s work in this area, which saw the publication in 2006 of a protocol developed in collaboration with the UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE), and ECTA’s own best practice guidelines, published in 2012, which were developed along with the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) and the European Association of Chemical Distributors (Fecc).

De Jong gave his own opinion on risk. “If you accept risk, you accept liability,” he said.

He urged those in the audience to put 95 per cent of their risk reduction efforts into preventing incidents, and only 5 per cent into limiting liability. After all, if incidents are prevented there is no liability.

There is a hierarchy of control when it comes to working at height. Firstly: don’t do it!

Systems and arrangements can be changed – think of the move towards bottom loading for road tankers, which means drivers and terminal personnel no longer have to access the tops of trailers. If personnel really have to access tank tops, make sure there is a fixed or mobile gantry with fencing on all sides so that there is no way for them to fall off.

The use of fall arrest systems, such as harnesses and cables, is a last resort, de Jong

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said. These can cause injuries when they come into play and are not a failsafe solution.

If personnel are presented with a gantry with only a side rail, or with no protection at all, they should stop work, he stressed, and sites that offer limited or no protection are the real problem.

Some sites do not want to spend the money to provide proper protection, and some think they can avoid liability by moving operations outside the gate; some sites look to the LSP to solve their problem or fail to act on accidents and near-misses. But their customers can be just as culpable, perhaps fearing a loss of business if they make too much fuss.

De Jong urged attendees to be firm on working at height; they should report any unsafe practices and establish links with their local occupational health and safety inspectors. A manual and procedures should be in place so that their personnel do not feel they have to accede to requests for unsafe working when they are a site, and a whistleblower procedure should make them feel able to report such events.

The final presentation came from Graham Wood, director of Davlis ISO Containers, who addressed the issue of leaks from tank

containers. This is sometimes due to over-filling or over-pressure in the tank, but most often results from leaks from valves (actually usually from valve flanges).

This can be due to damaged seals or valve seats, damage to the valve or the use of poor quality valves; there is also a growing market for third-party gaskets, which may not be as good as those from reputable suppliers.

Wood urged the audience not to be taken in by the chance of saving a little on cheaper equipment, when a failure and leak can cost thousands. He advised providing depots with a list of approved valve manufacturers and gasket suppliers and said that unannounced visits to depots is the only way to ensure they are following these instructions.

The Amsterdam event also featured meetings of ITCO’s various divisions and technical reports; these sessions were not open to the press, although documents are available on the ITCO website, https://international-tank-container.org.

ITCO’s next regional meeting is scheduled to take place on 27 November in Shanghai.

Full information can be found on the ITCO website.

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the last few years, Suttons is positive of future opportunities, shown by this large order.

“There is still room for expansion for us within the UK. We’re just about to go through a strategic review as we are three years into our five-year plan and, on the UK side, we’ve been successful implementing this, improving the calibre of people within the business and completing some of the acquisitions we identified.”

MANAGING AN ONGOING fleet revamp, working with government agencies and then finding the time to host a safety day event is a lot to consider, but UK-based Suttons Group has done just that. The specialist logistics service provider has done more in the last few months than many businesses achieve in years and more is set to happen.

also placing a pre-order for trucks in 2020”.

Suttons has orders for 72 units for delivery by the end of 2019 and a further 55 are for delivery in 2020. All of these orders are for Volvo FM GT XL models.

“The reason for pre-ordering the trucks for 2020 is due to the uncertainty about what may or may not happen with Brexit,” says Sutton.

BRANCHING OUT Suttons has diversified its reach and expanded through acquisitions over the last couple of years. This has allowed the business to develop relationships with new customers and grow in sectors where it previously only had a small representation.

“These new acquisitions have got us into different sectors and solidified our position in the chemical sector,” says Sutton. “These acquisitions have really helped us in sectors that we weren’t particularly strong in, such as waste products. This has allowed our customers to see our service levels and quality we provide.”

Of course, these new acquisitions and pre-emptive vehicle purchases are, in part, designed to offset any issues that may arise when Brexit happens – if it happens at all.

“Brexit is a difficult one to answer as we just don’t know what will happen,” laughs Sutton.

“I think our general view on that is that over the next five to ten years whatever is currently coming in and out of the UK will continue to need to come in and out of the UK. “Even longer term, we believe that where production of raw materials, perhaps, moves out of the UK, these raw materials will need to be shipped into the UK and, rather than being moved domestically from factory to

HCB caught up with John Sutton, Group CEO, to discuss developments since the last conversation (HCB May 2019, page 39).

Following up on the progress of the fleet expansion, John Sutton explains that “in addition to the trucks already on order, we’re

“A lot of manufacturers indicated that there might be tariffs on trucks of up to 20 per cent.

So, because of this, our orders have been secured throughout next year.”

Despite all the uncertainties and variables that have been a constant source of frustration in the UK/European market for

factory, possibly it will come from port storage or importing ISO tanks into the UK.” According to Sutton, the UK economy seems to be doing as well as – if not better than – most mainland European economies in terms of demand. He then sums up concerns surrounding Britain and Brexit best when he

ON THE GO STRATEGY • SUTTONS GROUP CEO JOHN SUTTON DISCUSSES THE COMPANY’S APPROACH TO IMPROVING ITS MARKET POSITION IN A VOLATILE AND UNPREDICTABLE WORLD

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states: “The nature of the business might change, but the need to move chemicals from A to B will continue.”

In addition to the new Volvo orders and preparing for any Brexit upset, the ongoing fleet refurbishment is gaining momentum.

Suttons has received 36 of the 70 GP tanks – with the balance due by April 2020 – and has completed seven major refurbishments.

Currently, 600 ISO tanks per year are in the process of being renovated. Due to this, Sutton does not expect to place any orders for “at least the next six months because the market seems fairly flat”.

UNITING FOR SAFETY Getting back to its roots and core focus of safety being number one, Suttons showcased its commitment to safety and innovation during a customer-focused event at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, Leicester, this past September. Workshops were

 SUTTONS IS INVESTING NOW IN NEW TRUCKS TO EXPAND ITS CAPABILITIES WHILE PROTECTING ITSELF AGAINST POSSIBLE COST INCREASES IN NEW VEHICLES AFTER BREXIT

organised where attendees could discuss issues such as safety culture and compliance excellence, and heard about an innovative technology project, run in coordination with Suttons’ fleet telematics provider Microlise.

Furthermore, the new 2019 Volvo units and new general-purpose tanks were on display and visitors were given an opportunity to drive one of the rigs around the track. Many people involved with the day-to-day running of businesses such as Suttons have never had the chance to drive and reverse a truck, so the opportunity provided all attendees with an insight into the difficulties and skills required to operate such machinery – particularly when in tight locations and on active worksites.

“We wanted to give our key customers an insight into our commitment to safety and how we’re investing for the future, in both assets and technology,” says Michael Cundy, managing director of Suttons Tankers. “This location provided the perfect backdrop for customers to take part in workshops, have a drive of the vehicles and climb inside our innovative training tank. An event of this kind gives us an opportunity to meet and listen to our customers and demonstrate our capability across a range of areas.”

Suttons has not arranged this event in the past but plans to develop on the theme in the coming years thanks to the great feedback it has received. For example, Mark Beal from BOC Fleet Services describes the safety day get-together: “What a great event! The day was well structured and gave a very informative insight into the great work that Suttons is doing for its customers and the industry. Everything was slick and timed very well.”

BEST DEFENCE Smuggling is not something that is commonly associated with the chemical logistics industry, but it is in fact something the industry needs to be diligent about. Suttons has been working closely with the UK Border Force, a law enforcement agency within the UK Home Office, to help train staff on how to inspect different types of tank container and identify where goods can be smuggled.

There can be a great number of ways in which units such as tank containers can be adapted to create a vessel suitable for smuggling contraband and illicit goods.

Suttons provided Border Force with a tank container designed specifically to help train officers in the detection and prevention of illicit goods entering the UK. “Suttons is proud to assist the Home Office in keeping the UK’s borders safe and secure and has supplied Border Force with a training tank that can be used to demonstrate where contraband items might be hidden to aid detection when freight enters the UK from overseas,” says Barry McNally, managing director of Suttons. “As experts in ISO tank training, we were quickly able to fit out a suitable tank, based on our existing training design, to show how the tank could be modified to hide contraband.”

The tank container provided by Suttons will continue to be used by Border Force for demonstration purposes at courses and conferences, as well as training for other border agencies. www.suttonsgroup.com

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HCB RECENTLY CAUGHT up with Fort Vale’s sales director, Graham Blanchard, at the ITCO members meeting in Amsterdam. As vice-chair of ITCO’s Manufacturing Division, Graham had enjoyed a tiring but fruitful day,

engineer. A spell in the Purchasing Department gave him the impetus to widen his horizons and he progressed to design engineer, then project engineer, before becoming works manager. At the end of 2018

know this development of our people brings continuity of what we call the ‘Fort Vale approach’, ensuring support and service to our customers for years to come.

“Fort Vale Engineering Ltd is the world leader in the design and manufacture of manways, safety valves and loading and discharge systems for the transport, transfer and storage of bulk liquids and liquefied gases,” Graham adds. “We own self-sufficient manufacturing facilities, giving us total control over all manufacturing processes from foundry to testing - from initial research and development to the final product. This means that Fort Vale can supply quality equipment, both standard and bespoke, to meet each individual client’s requirements.”

As we near the end of an eventful 2019, HCB asked Graham for his thoughts on the future of Fort Vale and what products the market can look forward to in the near future: HCB: As a pioneer and leader in the field, can Fort Vale lead the market in terms of product development?

GB: Very much so, in fact we do! We have a purpose-built R&D facility with state-of-the-art CNC machinery, measuring equipment, flow testing and explosion rigs - our R&D facilities are second to none. We invest $750,000 annually in R&D because it’s a vital part of our make-up as a company, and has been right since the early days when Fort Vale was founded.

We also have a fantastic pool of resources we can call on at any time - chartered and Incorporated engineers for example - all available in-house. We think it’s vitally important that we can verify the technical integrity of our range of products - that’s why we built our own third party-approved test laboratory, where we conduct cycle and endurance tests, air and liquid flow tests, flame and explosion tests and so on.

but managed to find the time to sit down with us and discuss Fort Vale and its plans for the future.

Graham has spent most of his professional life with Fort Vale. After leaving school at 16, he was taken on as an apprentice and subsequently qualified as a mechanical

he was promoted again to sales director.

It’s a career progression that typifies Fort Vale and its approach and attitude towards staff. As Graham himself puts it: “Our apprentice programme is also guiding the next generation, giving them the tools they need to become leaders themselves. We

HCB: Or does Fort Vale have to listen to what the market is requesting?

GB: Well, both in fact – Fort Vale is continually developing its own products while listening to customer ideas and market requirements.

We believe in constant innovation. We always listen to what our customers want and

LEAD THE WAY VALVES • FORT VALE’S APPROACH TO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ILLUSTRATES A LONGSTANDING COMMITMENT TO LEADING THE INDUSTRY IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE

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TANKS

anticipate future trends, so our products are always evolving to benefit them, rather than looking at what our competitors are doing and playing catch-up. We like to lead from the front! We also have extensive experience and a flair for design - engineering functional, ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing products. It’s very important to us.

HCB: In which case, what are Fort Vale’s customers looking for at present?

GB: As a general issue, we find that they are looking at reducing maintenance and repair costs, ensuring the longevity of products, as well as the performance and reliability of valves. These are all areas we consider ourselves to be strong in. Once we bring a product to market, we are careful to listen to any feedback and make improvements if necessary - continual refinement is the only way to maintain our position as market leader.

One example that comes to mind is our Superseat Footvalve. There is an industrywide issue with pitting and crevice corrosion

 BLANCHARD (OPPOSITE) HIGHLIGHTS FORT VALE’S INITIATIVE IN DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS, SUCH AS THE SUPERSEAT FOOTVALE (BELOW) TO IMPROVE SAFETY AND HELP ITS CUSTOMERS REDUCE THEIR COSTS

- especially in the chemical and food duty markets. Previously, the best solution was to use high nickel steels such as Hastelloy in an effort to solve the issue, but it was very expensive. That’s why we now use Inconel as part of our manufacturing process. It’s used extensively in Formula One racing, has a much higher pitting index than 316 stainless steel, and greater resistance is available to a wider range of chemical applications, ensuring long life and trouble-free use. It gives us superior quality to all other options on the market, but at a lower cost, and it’s now standard on all our footvalves. We’re very proud of it.

HCB: How is Fort Vale looking at the emergence of FRP equipment? Or is that just a Russian thing?

GB: Interesting question. We actually supply a full range of PFA-lined equipment to this market, including relief valves, ball valves, butterfly valves and discharge valves. We’ve also developed a full range of PFA-moulded equipment, as opposed to Halar-sprayed, making Fort Vale’s PFA-coated valves a more durable product, manufactured from a consistent lining process, which in turn improves the longevity of the products being used with corrosive cargos. Does that answer it?

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HCB: What in particular has Fort Vale done recently in terms of new product launches?

What do they offer?’

GB Ah, well I’m glad you’ve asked me that, because it just so happens that we have one or two new products that we think are very exciting indeed. What I can tell you is that we are launching a new cryogenic range at the Intermodal show in Hamburg in November.

Basically, we’ve developed a range of valves for use in cryogenic tank applications, suitable for tank containers, road tankers, offshore and static vessels. The range will have a low weight and part count, which contributes to lower maintenance and repair costs and higher flow rates. The range includes: Globe valves - DN15 to DN50 range - the developments in comparison to our competition are: increased flow rates, reduced weight, reduced parts count, ergonomic handle design and reduced number of turns required to operate the valve.

Check valves - DN15 to DN40 range - again, these provide increased flow rates and reduced weight.

DN20 cryogenic diverter valve - this has been manufactured to required industry standards using the approved quality control standards at our state-of-the-art factory, using the latest technology in manufacturing and inspection equipment.

Pressure relief valves - 2.9 Bar to 50 Bar set pressure range - the main developments here are: increased flow rates, reduced weight and a reduced parts count.

All of this equipment has been designed in accordance to BS EN 1626:2008 and all valve parts and assemblies meet the cleanliness requirements of BS EN 12300:1999.

When you consider that we also have the Superseat Footvalve, and a new 4-inch hydraulic rail valve for use on the new BASF class tank container (B-TC), there’s quite a lot for us to shout about over the coming months!

HCB: It certainly seems as if you’re going to be quite busy. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

GB: It’s been a pleasure. www.fortvale.com

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STOP THIEF GAUGING • FUEL SUPPLIERS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD NEED TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON PRODUCT IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN. MECHTRONIC HAS AN ANSWER TO THEIR PROBLEMS FUELS ARE THE lifeblood of the modern world and access to affordable fuels is crucial to a comfortable society. But in parts of the developing world where poverty is rife, the poor can quickly become priced out of the market – and this can lead to the temptation to subvert the proper supply channels.

This has certainly been the case in East Africa and, indeed, the Kenya Port Authority (KPA) said in 2017 that: “Siphoning by drivers is chronic, affecting transporters and construction companies at KPA. For instance,

Not content to let this situation continue, KPA decided to do something about it and, with the help of Simplytrak (Kenya) Ltd, looked for a technical solution to help it keep track of the fuel supply chain and prevent pilfering.

The solution was to invest in the VisiLevel gauging system from MechTronic and, after only a few months, Simplytrak’s CEO Joe Kigara was in the position to say: “We have already seen a reduction in fuel discrepancy, the impact on the port has been significant and discussions are now underway to expand

nearly 40 per cent of fuel is lost.”

the fleet.”

 KEEPING A CAREFUL WATCH ON FUELS DURING TRANSPORT AND DELIVERY CAN REDUCE PILFERAGE AND AVOID ACCIDENTS STEMMING FROM ILLEGAL PRACTICES

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EYE ON THE TANKER VisiLevel is an ATEX- and IECEx-approved level gauging system that uses patented and proven technology to identify a tanker’s fuel content by measuring the volume,

temperature, density and colour of the contents. This unique gauging system ensures that the date, time and location is recorded when the fuel tanker makes its delivery.

When linked to MechTronic’s bespoke cloud-based tracking system, actual loaded product information is automatically uploaded to the tracking system and, using the metered delivery information, the product left onboard the tanker at the end of the day is reconciled.

An end of shift report can be easily created to identify any stock variations, guaranteeing the security of both the onboard product and tanker.

Since the successful launch into Kenya, VisiLevel has also been chosen by Côte d’Ivoire-based Global Services, a distributor of fuel management systems within Africa. It was looking to assist a customer in Côte d’Ivoire suffering similar fuel discrepancy issues.

“We wanted a solution that would enable our customer to monitor, track and ensure that their customers are receiving an untampered product. With drivers travelling some two to three thousand kilometres over a period of several weeks, unfortunately fuel discrepancies and tampering can happen,” Global Services says.

“However, with the introduction of VisiLevel and its tailor-made audit tracking capabilities, we can ensure our individual customers’ requirements are met. For example, the software automatically issues text and email alerts when fuel levels drop by a specific level. Since installation, our customer has been able to track exactly where fuel is leaving the tanker or when the fuel is being tampered with – providing operators with a tool to end fuel discrepancies and save valuable product and money.”

MechTronic, based in Leeds, UK and founded in 2004, specialises in road tanker metering and gauging systems and is widely regarded as the UK’s innovator in the design and manufacture of fuel discharge systems.

MechTronic also supplies and manufactures a range of components including foot valves, bottom loading valves, tanker overfill prevention systems, bottom loading manifolds and tanker manhole lids. HCB www.mechtronic.ltd.uk

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NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

STOLT GETS HOT IN SINGAPORE

Stolt Tank Containers (SCT) has invested in a significant expansion of heating capacity at its Singapore terminal (below), its main hub depot in Asia. The original 12 heating bays have been augmented with a second tier and a larger footprint and the depot, first opened 32 years ago, can now offer 60 cargo heating bays. The heating lines are equipped with stepdown regulators to allow delivery of different steam pressure to suit different cargo and tank types, while the arrangement also allows for cargo sampling of all tanks and for temperature monitoring throughout the entire heating process.

Stolt Container Terminal Pte Ltd provides support for all STC activities in Asia and also acts as the training centre for STC staff and for regional depots and customers. Located on Jurong Island, it serves the local chemical hub.

STC has meanwhile reported third-quarter revenues of $135.2m and operating profit of $12.1m, with both figures slightly off those of the previous period as the market continues to

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

be soft as a result of price competition. “The cyclical strengthening of tank container markets that we typically see at this time of year did not materialise, reflecting the combined impact of the US-China trade war, a softening of global economic conditions overall, and an oversupply of tank containers,” says Niels G Stolt-Nielsen, CEO of parent Stolt-Nielsen Ltd. www.stolttankcontainers.com FIRST DRUMMING IN MAASVLAKTE

Neele-Vat has formally opened its new Rotterdam Blending & Filling (RBF) facility in Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte. The new complex is designed to handle both non-hazardous and packaged dangerous goods, and also offers a blending and drumming unit.

RBF has been designed as an all-in-one facility to provide for the packaging, mixing, storage, refrigerated storage and onward distribution of liquid chemical products and is the first site in the Maasvlakte to provide drumming and IBC filling services. It has a storage capacity of some 35,000 pallet spaces.

“It’s a fantastic and innovative addition to the Port of Rotterdam’s industry, competitive strength, versatility and employment,” says Emile Hoogsteden, director of Containers, Breakbulk & Logistics at the Port of Rotterdam Authority. www.neelevat.nl KATOEN EXPANDS IN CHEMICALS

Katoen Natie has acquired the warehousing and value-added logistics activities of NijhofWassink’s facility in Kutno, Poland. The site covers an area of 254,868 m² and has 42 silos, 15,000 m² of outside storage space, five warehouses totalling 40,000 m², a repacking hall, an office building and technical building.

Nijhof-Wassink’s warehouse capabilities in Poland have grown rapidly and Katoen Natie has shown interest in expanding in the area. As both companies have similar cultures and views on business operations, an agreement was swiftly reached guaranteeing continuity, stability and growth. Katoen Natie has decided to immediately expand the acquired facilities

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and in parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It has a team of more than 100 hazmattrained drivers with temperature-controlled, hazmat-customised trucks and trailers. Its transport and warehousing network is linked through proprietary, web-enabled software that provides customers with real-time visibility into inventory location and status. www.rinchem.com VTG GOES FOR FLEXIS

with additional warehouses totalling 16,000 m² and 42 extra silos.

“With the acquisition of Nijhof-Wassink’s warehouse activities in Poland, the Business Unit Petrochemicals is expanding its European network of import hubs considerably,” says Katoen Natie. “The management of Katoen Natie considered Poland to be a blind spot in the network. By filling this blind spot, Poland is from now on an extra asset to serve the petrochemical customers even more.”

Katoen Natie has also acquired the Antwerp-based transport company Joosen, a family-owned concern that has a strong focus on moving freight containers within the port area. “With their young and modern fleet of tractors and trailers, supplemented by a permanent team of subcontractors and combined with their strong focus on software and new applications, Transport Joosen is one of the leading transport companies in the Port of Antwerp,” says Katoen Natie, which will add further capacity to its existing operations through Valkeniersnatie and Katoen Natie Trucking. www.katoennatie.com RHYS DAVIES BOUGHT BY CATHAY

Cathay Investments has acquired Rhys Davies and Sons Limited (RDL), a prominent UKbased logistics, transport and warehousing business. Ben Chaing, Cathay CEO, says: “We are delighted to announce our acquisition

of RDL. RDL has always been determined to build long-term partnerships and exceed customer expectations. They will work together with our warehouse and logistics providers, WH1 and Amethyst Group Limited along with our freight forwarders PNC Global Logistics UK to expand our logistic business nationwide and enhance the range of services we can offer.”

“Cathay’s acquisition of RDL should come as very welcome news to our loyal customers, long standing partners and valued and talented employees,” say Mark Richmond and Stephen Thomas, former directors of RDL. “This investment will enable RDL to flourish into the future and will facilitate the realisation of the ambition shared by both outgoing and incoming owners.” www.cathay-investments.com www.rhysdavies.co.uk RINCHEM DOUBLES UP IN TAIWAN

Rinchem has opened a second dangerous goods warehouse in Tainan, Taiwan. The facility (above) offers some 3,200 pallet spaces for a range of goods, including flammables, oxidisers and products dangerous when wet, with various temperature-controlled units.

Rinchem has had a warehouse in the port since it acquired Chimei Logistics in 2014.

Rinchem operates a broad network of temperature-controlled, hazardous materialscompliant warehouses across North America

VTG Tanktainer has begun offering flexitanks as part of its service for the transport of liquids in bulk. It is using German-made units in sizes ranging from 12,000 to 24,000 litres, targeting shippers of fruit juices, biofuels and industrial chemicals not classified as dangerous in transport.

“We are pleased to have an experienced flexitank team on board and that we can now move liquid goods in both tank containers and flexitanks,” says Jan Röbken, managing director of VTG Tanktainer. “For us, it is important to never stop developing and improving – and to always be able to offer our customers the best possible transportation solution.”

VTG Tanktainer has established a global flexitank team to provide its customers with an end-to-end packaging, including procurement and fitting of flexitanks, loading and unloading, and flexitank recycling. www.vtg.com A&R PICKS CHARLESTON

A&R Logistics is to invest some $60m in a new facility in Berkeley County, South Carolina to offer bagging and export of polymers for the regional chemical industry.

Located in Moncks Corner, the new site will have a footprint of up to 1m ft2 and have up to four high-speed packing lines. It has also been designated as a CSX Select Site, which will provide rapid and efficient rail connection to the port of Charleston. www.ardoingitright.com

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POWER OF THREE DIGITISATION • TANK CONTAINER OPERATORS ARE TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS, AIMING TO DEVELOP A STANDARD FORMAT FOR DATA COMMUNICATION THE PROMISE OF end-to-end visibility in the supply chain offered by innovative digitised systems has been slow to come to fruition; in the past the process of digitisation has been held up by a reluctance on the part of the various players in the supply chain to share information but, more recently, it has been the lack of common standards that has prevented the full realisation of the benefits of digitisation.

In order to break this logjam, three major European chemical logistics companies – Bertschi, Den Hartogh and Hoyer – have come together and, under the aegis of the European Chemical Transport Association (ECTA), have launched a work group to improve supply chain visibility in the transport of liquid chemicals in bulk. The ECTA work group is aiming to develop an ECTA Transport Data and Message Definition Framework to improve end-to-end supply chain visibility and collaboration.

The initiative was sparked by the three tank container operators in March this year and at its scheduled meeting in September the ECTA board agreed to proceed. Since then the work group has been augmented by experts from GCA, Rinnen and Alfred Talke.

The initial aim is to generate common message definitions for estimated time of arrival (ETA) and other milestone messages; more broadly, it will provide a framework of common definitions for all involved business partners in the logistics chain to allow the sharing of digital information, and will look

 THERE NEEDS TO BE A COMMON ELECTRONIC LANGUAGE ACROSS THE SUPPLY CHAIN TO IMPROVE VISIBILITY

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at an interoperable underlying technology format. It is hoped that this will lead to the optimisation of inbound and outbound logistics flows and will therefore be of benefit to all players in the chemical supply chain.

LET’S GET MOVING That is a feature stressed by Joep Aerts, business unit director, liquid logistics for Den Hartogh, when he spoke to HCB during the European Petrochemical Association’s (EPCA) Annual Meeting in Berlin last month. “This has got to be an open standard,” he said.

“Everyone can join.”

At the moment, each company optimises its own operations, meaning that logistics service providers need to use different data standards

for each customer. Moving to a standard format will reduce waste for all players in the chain – and Aerts said this approach could be extended to other parts of the supply chain such as tank depots, tank cleaning facilities and rail operators, and make the system an “orchestrator” for the entire chain.

But, Aerts says, “Speed is critical,” and he does not want the work group to just be a focus for discussion – it needs to produce something quickly, he stressed. But there will be problems to be overcome: to work properly, the system will require both vertical and horizontal collaboration and this latter aspect presents what Aerts said is “an extremely big challenge”.

Putting the work under ECTA may well help as the Association has recent experience through its leading work in the development of the electronic EFTCO Cleaning Document (e-ECD), which moved from concept to implementation remarkably quickly.

The ECTA work group swung into action this month and promises to share its output with shippers and IT solutions providers as soon as the framework is ready for further validation, hopefully in the first quarter of 2020. Those keen to hear more will be able to meet many of those involved during the ECTA Annual Meeting in Düsseldorf on 14 November.

DIGITISATION 21

ORDERED DELIVERY TRADING • INTERDISCIPLINARY COOPERATION BETWEEN DIGITAL PLATFORMS IS BECOMING MORE COMMONPLACE AS ONLINE TRADING CONTINUES TO TRANSFORM CHEMICAL PURCHASING A PARTNERSHIP HAS been established between chembid, the world’s largest search engine for chemicals and plastics, and TankContainerFinder.com (TCF), a booking platform for tank containers. Both businesses are venturing into new territory as they develop a long-term cooperation to create cross-sectoral synergies, providing a far greater and broader range of services with heightened transparency for their users.

Over the past few months, chembid and TCF have separately been entering platform cooperations with a range of well-known marketplace operators for chemicals and plastics. The recent partnership between the two is in an attempt to integrate supplementary

 CHRISTIAN BÜRGER: USERS DEMAND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYDAY CHALLENGES

logistic services to the wider variety of purchasing capabilities already provided to users of chembid’s platform.

The relationship between chembid and TCF provides platform users with access to a highly reliable logistics service.

Furthermore, this cooperation has given chembid the opportunity to broaden its position in the chemical industry by diversifying its services.

LINKS IN THE CHAIN “Our users demand innovative solutions for everyday challenges in the chemical industry,” says Christian Bürger, managing director of chembid. “In addition to purchasing and selling chemicals and plastics, supplementary services in areas such as logistics or financing are also highly relevant. In TankContainerFinder.com we have found a reliable partner from the

logistics sector with whom we can offer complementary logistics services on our platform.”

Léon de Bruin, CEO of TCF, comments: “The partnership between chembid and TankContainerFinder.com enables us to broaden our horizons and network within the chemical and plastics industry. We are looking forward to connecting the largest search engine for chemicals and plastics worldwide, with a great presence in the Far East, to the leading platform for tank containers worldwide, which has more than 65 per cent of the global fleet connected, and building a more transparent and efficient chemical supply chain together.”

It’s clear to see why chembid is eager to work alongside TCF as the platform currently has more than 1,100 active users from 114 countries and over 900 brokerage enquiries, making it one of the largest and fastest growing platforms for the booking of tank containers.

The ease and speed in which TCF users can find their desired tank containers is the prime asset; in addition, users benefit from a wide range of transport containers, high comparability and cost transparency.

Concurrently, commercial suppliers can offer their available tank containers and present them efficiently and cost-effectively to a large number of potential customers.

This is not the first move that TCF has embraced to expand its work with online chemical marketplaces. This past June, TCF and Pinpools, a Germany-based digital B2B marketplace for buyers and sellers of chemicals, began a collaboration (HCB July 2019, page 12).

Operating the world’s largest metasearch engine for chemicals, chembid provides market intelligence, sourcing and marketing services for commercial buyers and suppliers. It is chembid’s goal to bundle and process information surrounding chemicals, plastics and providers and to make this information easily accessible. The chembid platform, launched in October 2017, offers unmatched possibilities to locate and compare hundreds of thousands of chemical offers from marketplaces and online shops. tankcontainerfinder.com www.chembid.com

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PERFECT SIGHT TRACKING • VASTLY IMPROVED SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY HAS CHANGED THE WAY GLOBAL LOGISTICS OPERATE, AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS ARE ON THE WAY Being able to keep track of all shipments – from the heart of a continent to the middle of the ocean – and generating accurate predictions for transport timings are two of the most impressive developments in modern logistics. Furthering these developments are FourKites, a supply chain management provider for global organisations, and Ocean Insights, a data and market intelligence specialist.

FourKites and Ocean Insights have announced an exclusive partnership to transform container visibility. This strategic partnership creates a plug-and-play deployment model that integrates Ocean Insights’ ocean freight tracking data with FourKites’ real-time visibility platform to offer domestic and international logistics professionals full end-to-end visibility. This project covers modes of transport from global seaports to final destinations anywhere in the world.

FourKites works with the world’s largest network of shippers, carriers and 3PLs to deliver levels of insight that provide stronger and more proactive supply chain decisions.

Ocean Insights combines container liner

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

together with FourKites’ over-the-road data and our powerful predictive platform,” says Dr Felix Richter, CEO of Ocean Insights.

“Now, supply chain professionals can better manage their operations and unlock value through a single, consistent visibility platform, regardless of international and domestic responsibilities,” adds Mathew Elenjickal, CEO of FourKites.

schedules and carriers’ container tracking information with neutral AIS vessel tracking data to give customers the ability to plan and monitor operations at the highest level.

Even though it was only launched five years ago, FourKites now tracks more than 600,000 shipments every day and has pioneered the industry shift to real-time visibility, enabling improvements in on-time delivery and supply chain optimisation based on actionable data and predictive intelligence. The network used

by FourKites has grown to encompass more than 260 of the world’s top shippers.

The aim of this collaboration is that by combining FourKites’ global network with Ocean Insights’ real-time container tracking capabilities, import and export teams will be able to rely on a single system for door-to-door

REAL-WORLD USE All modes of transport can benefit from the partnership between FourKites and Ocean Insights. Recently, Stolt Tank Containers (STC) announced the successful implementation of a new integration project with FourKites. This caters for all key status events that occur in the transport of Stolt’s tanks.

FourKites highlights the relevant information to customers using STC through the FourKites platform, simultaneously combining it with information from other suppliers of STC’s customers. “This new integration allows status updates to be communicated from STC to FourKites in real time,” says Shane Robertson, principal business analyst at STC business applications.

“By harnessing our own extensive digital

tracking anywhere in the world. This collaborative use of real-time data to assist diverse brands is expected to lower operating costs and improve on-time performance.

“We’re excited to now offer true door-todoor capabilities to our customers via the integration of our superior ocean data,

supplier network, we can automatically pass updates to FourKites whenever our logistics partners notify us of key status update events”.

The implementation of this integration with the FourKites platform is a major enhancement to STC’s logistics technology

DIGITISATION 23

portfolio and is expected to offer the potential for significant benefits to STC’s customers.

MAKING WAVES While the process of digitising the container and tank container supply chain has proceeded swiftly in recent years, the ‘blind spot’ in global tracking and telematics has long been the ocean leg. Connectivity is limited once a vessel leaves port, meaning that the visibility promised by digitised systems and ‘smart containers’ is no longer available. Using varied sources to be able to provide consistent visibility anywhere in the world’s oceans is what Ocean Insights has been working on since its launch in 2012.

Based in Hong Kong, Ocean Insights has become the most precise supply chain visibility supplier for oceangoing freight.

In the beginning, Konstantin Borek, founder of Ocean Insights, saw a dire need for workflow processes and existing operations to be digitised when working in the ocean freight sector. After starting the businesses, Borek brought Richter (right) into the fold and, using Richter’s expertise as an automatic identification system (AIS) data specialist, Ocean Insights progressed into driving supply chain management processes.

“We have focused on ocean freight for many years, enhancing the supply chain visibility,” says Richter. “Ocean Insights’ strength lies in offering end-to-end ocean visibility; our in-depth knowledge and sophistication makes us second to none.”

Ocean Insights’ real-time information supports everyday logistics operations to enable its users to make the most informed decisions, but it was the introduction of the Container Sailing Schedules (CSS) tool that truly revolutionised the benefits for

offered to help with logistical planning and preparations for a huge swathe of the international supply chain.

“Our sailing schedule software is recognised as one of the highest quality on the market,” explains Josh Brazil, COO at Ocean Insights.

“Others are notoriously full of holes and issues, but we give the data a human touch and make it usable.

“The usability of our software is excellent,” Brazil continues. “Customers can benefit from quick training and rollout, ensuring high return on investment as well as increased efficiency and excellent time savings, helping to make their customers happy. Recently, we have also been investing heavily in our predictive ETA capabilities, predicting not just the ETA of the next destination but also of the ports in between, something which we are unique in offering.”

One of the most prominent ways Ocean Insights has provided savings is through reducing demurrage and detention costs.

Often, these costs are down to poor planning and mistakes on the part of the freight company. These fees have become transparent for Ocean Insights users and, when coupled with real-time data, customers are able to leverage and negotiate appropriate free-time rates with freight companies.

There are plans afoot for this function to be improved in the coming months.

“As we look to the future, we will be continuing to bring added value to the market,” explains Brazil. “Numerous processes will be optimised and digitised over the next few years, and we want to remain at the forefront of this movement.”

In the last 12 months the Ocean Insights team has grown by an additional 15 or so to be able to handle the surge in demand for its services and to continue developing digital solutions that will aid the ocean freight sector in countless ways. www.ocean-insights.com www.fourkites.com

customers. CSS is considered by many to be the most accurate data tracking tool for ocean freight as it keeps track of more than five million sailing schedules every single day. This is essential information for shippers and associated businesses as it allows a level of accuracy never before

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NEWS BULLETIN

DIGITISATION

FRENCH EXCHANGE

Eurazeo has acquired Elemica, the cloudbased digital supply network for global process industries. The core aim of Elemica is to accelerate digital transformation through connecting, automating, anticipating and transforming inter-business supply chain processes for products bought, sold, moved, and complied. Having been in operation for nearly 20 years, customer processes on the network reach more than $500bn in commerce annually. Eurazeo is an international investment company headquartered in France with a global range of offices.

“This new partnership with Eurazeo will help accelerate our move into new adjacent market segments and support our continued development of innovative digital transformation solutions such as blockchain, AI, and the Industrial Internet of Things,” says Rich Katz (opposite), Elemica president. “The commitment to our solutions enables our clients to achieve the interoperability and the visibility they need inside and outside of the four walls of their

enterprise, helping them automate and integrate business processes, reduce risk, and thereby improve their profitability.”

“We are delighted to announce the partnership with Elemica,” comments Eric Schaefer, managing director of Eurazeo Capital.

“Elemica is a key supply chain technology provider with substantial growth potential. With our support, expertise and international network, Elemica will accelerate its development in new industries, geographies and product offerings.” www.elemica.com CHILLED DELIVERIES

Railbox Consulting, a technology firm focused on the intermodal shipping container industry, has announced a multi-year digital marketing partnership with ITS ConGlobal, selling and renting reefer containers in the US through Reefer Container Pros. Railbox Consulting already offers customers the opportunity to buy or rent shipping containers through westerncontainersales. com. ConGlobal is the largest intermodal

services company in North America, storing more reefer containers than anyone else.

“We’re proud to have the confidence of the leading refrigerated container depot and service provider in the country,” says Railbox Consulting president Mike Norton. “Having Reefer Container Pros powered by the experts at ConGlobal is a win for our customers.”

Beyond providing a web-marketing platform, Railbox Consulting CIO Derek Murashige is seeking to fully integrate the project with ConGlobal’s existing system. The goal of this integration is to ensure that customers will be redirected to the appropriate party at ConGlobal, avoiding any additional hurdles to the customer experience.

“We’ve run into a lot of old thinking in the container industry, but we were pleased to see that ConGlobal understands the opportunity for digital partnerships,” adds Murashige.

“We’re excited to see what we can build with their resources and our technology.”

Additionally, an AI chat bot will be released as a part of the service in the near future, further heightening the customer experience and ease of use. reefercontainerpros.com THOUGHTS ON DIGITAL

Being successful and differentiating from competitors can be sometimes challenging, no matter the industry, and that applies just as much to those companies offering digitisation systems as to their own customers. For instance, unlike those companies offering a metasearch marketplace, Pinpools offers a solution where the full transaction is done on the platform.

“Our ambition is not to cover all the products within the chemical industry. We are focusing on these products where you can have a transaction between the buyer and supplier on the platform,” states Alexander Lakemeyer, CEO of Pinpools (left). “Onboarding suppliers

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DIGITISATION

might take from half an hour to one and half years. For the buyers, this is a faster process to register and start directly with a request for quotations.” Apart from onboarding new users, retaining the existing ones is an important part of the business.

Digitisation is changing the chemical industry and, as Lakemeyer states, even though the share of marketplaces in Europe is still quite small, the chemical industry is one of the fastest-growing industries within Europe.

“The European market is €500bn big, so we are convinced that some single industries within the big market will have a chance to build their marketplace.”

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Lakemeyer notes that digital marketing and sales in the chemical industry are highly correlated and also gives the example of the ‘Shop in Shop’ and marketing functions on the Pinpools Marketplace. “Shop in Shop means that every supplier has the ability with a few clicks to build its own shop and to buy a certain marketing budget to promote the brand on Pinpools Marketplace,” he says. The important factor for business leaders is to find people within their company who are especially interested in digitisation and those people will deliver the strategies. en.pinpools.com

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THE TERMINAL ZONE

THE RICOH ARENA in Coventry has for some years now provided a regular welcome to the UK Tank Storage Association (TSA) and its annual conference and exhibition.

And so it was again that visitors thronged once more to the venue this past 26 September, eager to see what was new on the stands and hear the latest from the conference presenters.

Conference attendees were welcomed by Adrian Jackson, TSA vice-president and CEO of the UK’s pipeline agency, OPA. He reminded them to take the time to visit the 62 exhibitors

UK but this year proceedings were kicked off with a paper looking at the commercial environment for storage terminal operations, in what Giacomo Boati, executive director for midstream and downstream oil markets at IHS Markit, described as “a very interesting time for storage”.

NEAR-FUTURE FUELS The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) new restrictions on sulphur oxide emissions from ships, which take effect on 1 January 2020 – the so-called ‘IMO 2020’ rule

all around the world – and simultaneously.

Boati said industry should not expect low-sulphur fuel to be available in sufficient quantities on the deadline and said he anticipates non-compliance rates of around 15 per cent. Quite how oversight of compliance is to be achieved is as yet not clear.

In the longer term there is further uncertainty arising from the move towards decarbonisation in transport fuels. However, Boati said, most of the growth in the global car parc over the next ten years will be gasolinepowered, largely because of rising car ownership in China. In IHS Markit’s model, the use of alternative fuels in road transport will only really take off after 2025 and he expects 30 per cent of the global car fleet (and 50 per cent in Europe) will be powered by alternative fuels by 2040. In heavy goods vehicles, diesel will likely remain the most widely used fuel because of its cost and efficiency.

Growth is apparent in all transport sectors,

in the hall outside and to see what was on show, before handing over to the conference chair, HCB’s editor-in-chief Peter Mackay, who moderated the event with his usual aplomb.

TSA always invites representatives of the competent authorities to speak on compliance issues facing the tank storage industry in the

– are aimed at changing the behaviour of ship operators. However, the need to supply low-sulphur bunker fuels around the world immediately on that deadline is, Boati said, “the most disruptive event in the oil market for decades”. It will affect all players in the fuel oil and middle distillate supply chains

including air and sea, but the challenge will be to ensure sustainable growth in view of the carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets being touted by the UN and other agencies.

So what does all this mean for storage terminals? The news is not that bad, Boati said.

Overall, global oil product demand is forecast

CONFERENCE REPORT • WE MAY BE LIVING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES BUT THE TANK STORAGE INDUSTRY NEEDS TO DEAL WITH THINGS AS THEY ARE. TSA’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE WAS THERE TO HELP

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to continue to grow through to 2035, with an increase of around 11m bpd compared to today.

Most of this growth will come from Asia and Africa. Indeed, the long-term outlook points towards growing refined product imbalances and new trade flows. This suggests that terminal operators will need to be nimble to take advantage of continued growth in demand for tank storage services.

BACK IN THE UK Closer to home, the UK government’s industrial strategy aims to make the UK a good place to do business and to provide high-quality jobs. The government has promised to invest in a major upgrade to the UK’s infrastructure and to ensure that the UK has a reliable, low-cost and clean energy system, especially in the face of plans for decarbonisation.

But, as Dr Paul Logan, director of the Chemical, Explosives and Microbiological Hazards (CEMH) Division of the UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE), said, this implies a lighter hand on the regulatory tiller, something that will be much easier post-Brexit. But how will that work in a high-hazard industry?

Dr Logan also noted that Greg Clarke, secretary of state at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), said in June this year: “As the Fourth Industrial Revolution changes the way we live and work, it is vital that our regulatory system keeps pace.”

At present, Dr Logan said, the UK is one of the safest places in the world to work, thanks in no small part to the Health & Safety at Work etc Act (HSW); he spent some of his presentation reminding the audience of how the UK got to this point, beginning with the 1833 Factories Act, which largely aimed at protecting children in the workforce. Today’s regulatory approach is somewhat different, with HSW and the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations taking a goal-setting and proportionate approach that

involves balancing risk against cost and promoting effective risk management.

But in this sector, there are a lot of ageing facilities, with many of the UK’s refineries and other oil and gas assets now 50 years old or

“THERE IS UNCERTAINTY ARISING FROM THE MOVE TOWARDS DECARBONISATION OF TRANSPORT FUELS”

more. This is presenting operators with a challenge. HSE wants operators to invest in risk control rather than in paperwork, and it also recognises that the sector and the regulations that govern it are mature.

There is also a growing focus on leadership,

Dr Logan said. HSE is concerned that some senior executives in the high-hazard sector fail to understand the risks their operations present; they are prone to putting their absolute trust in system designs and can make business decisions without taking into account their impact on process safety. Indeed, they have a “strong bias” towards messages about success, and have little time for safety warnings. Dr Logan quoted a senior manager involved in the Piper Alpha enquiry, who said: “I knew everything was all right because I never got any reports of things being wrong.”

In fact, Dr Logan said, “There are no new accidents – just the same mistakes in different places.” Operators need to learn from small incidents especially, as these may indicate a bigger incident about to happen. Communication between and across organisational levels is vital to heed these warnings.

CLEAN UP THE AIR These challenges to safety regulation are mirrored by the challenges to environmental regulation, as Dr Jo Nettleton, deputy director of Radioactive Substances and Installations Regulation at the Environment Agency (EA). Following the recent change in prime minister in the UK, she reported that the government is still supportive of the

 EXHIBITORS AT THE TSA EVENT HAD MANY NEW PRODUCTS AND SYSTEMS ON SHOW THAT MAY HELP TERMINAL OPERATORS MEET THEIR REGULATORY OBLIGATIONS AND IMPROVE COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE

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strategic plan for industry, including decarbonisation, but that the immediate future is unclear because of the new faces at the top and the impending Brexit. “Does this mean lower compliance and more pollution events?” she wondered.

Last year was bad in terms of pollution incidents, Dr Nettleton said. To some extent this was due to bad weather but EA is also concerned that there may be signs of increasing non-compliance. One year’s figure is not enough to tell so EA is waiting to see how 2019 pans out.

There is, though, the prospect of a change in the regulatory landscape post-Brexit. EA would like to see the same level of standards being applied but, Dr Nettleton said, there may be the opportunity to introduce additional regulations or to provide greater flexibility to the regulated community. In particular, she pointed to the fact that, despite an overall increase in air quality, around 69,000 deaths each year in the UK can be put down to poor air quality – this is certainly something that EA is keen to address.

However, she recognised that it is a challenge to get industry to reduce its emissions in a time

 THE TSA EVENT PROVIDES AN IDEAL OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW OFF EXPERTISE AND KNOWLEDGE TO A WIDE BUT FOCUSED AUDIENCE, SOMETHING THAT HCB HAS BEEN KEEP TO DO FOR DECADES NOW

of such economic and political uncertainty.

EA is, though, being proactive in this area and Dr Nettleton gave as an example the case of a combined heat and power plant, which was successfully providing energy to local businesses and putting energy into the grid; it was faced with a need to meet new emissions targets but the cost of doing so would have made the plant uneconomic. EA worked with the operator to identify a pragmatic solution, involving a one-off permit for the facility that helped it unlock investment in a new boiler plant. As a result, it has improved its nitrogen oxide emissions levels and now meets the tighter limits.

Looking further ahead, climate change is leading more extreme weather events that affect everyone, including the high-hazard industries. We can expect more dry summers, with the risk of more wildfires, as well as more unpredictable rainfall patterns with the concomitant risk of flood events. She said industry needs to prepare for this and reminded the audience of the work of the Chemical and Downstream Oil Industries Forum (CDOIF) to draw up best practice guidelines on flood defence.

But the issue of protecting the environment and public health is, Dr Nettleton said, “a very busy space”. Different government departments are involved, which have their own priorities, and public opinion is also varied. EA’s

position is that it wants to be involved and influence government policy decisions and to regulate in a way that enables sustainable growth while protecting the environment. For more ideas on what to expect, she pointed to the Regulated Industry’s Strategic Business Plan 2018-2023, which is currently available, and the EA’s own five-year action plan, which is currently being finalised.

DOWN TO ZERO After lunch, Dr Brian Worrall, head of group sustainability at DCC, looked more closely at the implications of a decarbonised energy system. “This is for us to think about, not another generation,” he stressed, “even if it’s going to take decades to implement.”

The ideal aim of decarbonisation is that the world will use more energy but will take all the carbon out – and do it at the same price or less. But for all the technologies that are already available or in development, “there’s no free lunch,” Dr Worrall said, noting that there is still plenty of oil in the ground and that we could easily go on using it.

Governments around the world are coming under increasing pressure to do something but, while they can see the problem, they may not be able to put the right solutions in place, Dr Worrall said. He also cautioned against picking one technology over another – all technologies will need to be used, in appropriate ways and in combination with each other, if decarbonisation targets are to be met.

The commitment to “do something” is obvious: Dr Worrall noted the Paris Agreement, which has been ratified or signed by almost all nations in the world (with the major exception of the US), the UK’s ‘2050 Net Zero’ commitment, the ban on fossil fuel boilers in new homes in the UK and Ireland from 2025, France’s ambition to phase out the use of heating oil by 2027, and the ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel-powered cars in Norway from 2025. Nevertheless, according to recent forecasts, oil products will still represent 86 per cent of the transport sector’s fuel needs in the EU in 2050, and 32 per cent of total final energy demand.

There are various different methods to generate decarbonised liquid fuels but almost all rely on electrolysis and, therefore, a plentiful

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supply of clean electricity produced from renewable sources. This offers some scope to use spikes in renewable energy supplies, for instance from wind farms or hydroelectric plants, to manufacture liquid fuels.

We are all going to have to learn a new list of acronyms: PTL (power-to-liquid), GTL (gas-to-liquid), BTL (biomass-to-liquid) and HVO (hydro-treated vegetable oil). Along with the use of biodiesel, advanced algae-based biofuels, biogas derived from organic waste and renewable technology, compressed and liquefied natural gas, hydrogen and electricity, these can – and hopefully will – deliver the volume of decarbonised fuel necessary to meet future transport and industrial needs.

The government does not have to decide which route to take, Dr Worrall said, it just needs to ensure there is a level playing field so that the market can settle on the best choice.

He also had a message for TSA: trade associations have a big part to play in the transition; they have a unique perspective and can help things happen by providing governments and other regulators with sound scientific evidence and by conducting trials.

He urged TSA to ally with like-minded partner associations and to lobby regulators and keep its members informed.

FINAL THOUGHTS Also on the agenda was a presentation by Caron Maloney, specialist inspector, risk assessment at HSE, who spoke about the difference between individual and societal risk. In her job, she has to establish the level of detail required for a company to demonstrate it has completed its risk assessment effectively. The greater the risk, the greater the degree of rigour required.

Companies need to assess the potential hazards involved in their operations, as well as the complexity of those operations, along with the size and nature of the population that could be affected if something goes wrong.

 THE 62 EXHIIBITORS WERE PLEASED WITH THE TURNOUT AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THEIR CUSTOMERS, AS WELL AS THEIR COMPETITORS, AT THE RICOH ARENA. THEY WILL BE THERE AGAIN NEXT YEAR

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HSE’s decision making process is transparent. Indeed, it is contained in a document, Reducing Risks, Protecting People, that is available on the HSE website. Maloney illustrated how it works in practice through a ‘fantasy’ storage terminal, close to residential areas. The various scenarios she painted explained how a slight variation in the arrangement of the site or in the way that different products are stored can have a big impact on the risk assessment. However, where there is the potential for there to be a broad impact on the surrounding population, the risk assessment will need to be more detailed.

In the end, Maloney said, suitable controls

greater the risk, no doubt, the less will be the weight to be given to the factor of cost.”

Attendees had been urged to stay for the final presentation, given by consultant Allan P Greensmith, who delivered a very personal and emotional report on a fatal accident. And, while it is the guys on the shop floor who are most at risk, the message applies equally to C-level executives and supervisors, he said. Human failures pose more of a threat than technical failures, he noted, but his main message was this: just because you haven’t had a lost-time injury in years doesn’t mean that you can sit back and stop trying. “We can’t become complacent or distracted,” he said.

must be in place to address all significant hazards. HSE starts from the expectation that those controls must, at a minimum, achieve the standards of relevant good practice precautions, irrespective of specific risk estimates. Moreover, she quoted Lord Justice Tucker, who said in respect of one case, “The

It is to be hoped that, by the time the next TSA annual conference comes round, Brexit will be done and industry will face a less uncertain future. The 2020 event will take place on 24 September, once more at the Ricoh Arena. Full details will be provided on the TSA website, www.tankstorage.org.uk.

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SUCCESS IN ASIA EVENT REVIEW • TANK STORAGE ASIA 2019 EXCELLED AS A PRIME OPPORTUNITY FOR THE LEADING MINDS IN TANK STORAGE TO MEET AND EXPLORE WHAT THE FUTURE MAY HOLD FOR THE REGION It was a great turnout for Tank Storage Asia 2019 in Singapore this past 25 and 26 September as record numbers of attendees and new exhibitors flooded the floors.

Regarded as one of the finest events for terminals, traders, petrochemical producers and equipment suppliers, the Tank Storage Asia event is the key moment in the calendar for those seeking to excel in the Asia market.

The inclusion of events and programmes such as one-to-one networking opportunities, a show floor filled with demonstrations of ground-breaking technologies and a strong conference speaker line-up contributed to

 TANK STORAGE ASIA PROVIDES A GOOD PLACE TO MEET AND TALK STORAGE TANKS

the 35 per cent increase in visitor numbers.

New attendees to the show, including Matrix Applied Technologies, DoveChem, FQE Chemicals and APMS, added to the growth of the event and took advantage of the unrivalled opportunities to meet clients and develop future connections in Asia.

Many of the main players and decisionmakers across the Asia region and beyond made their way to the show, including representatives from Shell, Saudi Aramco, Total, Dialog, Chevron, BP Singapore, BASF, ExxonMobil, Singapore LNG, Horizon, Thai Oil Group, Rotary Engineering, Cargill, Neste Singapore, Pertamina, Odfjell Terminals and many more. “It is a good event to meet with the industry’s key players,” says Vincent Quek, regional manager for Dixon Valve.

“It saves us time and resources to meet in one place.”

“This is the perfect event for the terminal industry,” adds Mark Lim, commercial manager at Stolthaven. “It’s a great way of getting the industry together – terminal operators, our customers and vendors – to share experiences. It has been a great success and we’ll definitely be back next year.”

Ramadan Fan, domestic marketing consultant at Saudi Aramco, says: “The conference provided us with an insight into the regional and global storage market and gave us the opportunity to connect with peers from across the industry.”

There were more than 1,550 meeting requests submitted through the networking platform in the lead up to the event.

Commenting on the networking platform, Jon Verlander, regional sales manager at Saferack, says: “This networking platform was a great addition to this year’s Tank Storage Asia. It has helped us meet the people we needed to see at the show.”

2020 EXPECTATIONS There was plenty to be discussed as visitors looked to the future and took note of current events. Tank Storage Asia 2019 was held just days after the drone strikes that affected Saudi Arabia’s oil supply; it was no surprise that geopolitical tensions and volatile market conditions featured highly in the conference room and how the markets of 2020 will begin.

Paul Hickin, associate director at Platts, examined the balance between supply and demand in the marketplace. It is well documented that oil demand worries continue in the wake of the global slowdown and the recession risk is now considered to be at 35 per cent, according to Hickin. However, Hickin explained that IMO 2020 could provide a demand spike and oil demand growth could remain above 1m bpd in 2019 and 2020.

Following this, S&P Global Platts aired its prediction that oil prices are likely to break the $55-$65/bbl range, perhaps reaching $80/bbl.

However, in the longer term, prices may well settle back around $55/bbl, highlighting the fragile balance between supply and demand.

Tank Storage Asia 2020 will be held on 7 and 8 October, once again at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. www.tankstorageasia.com

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MISSED CONNECTIONS COUPLERS • FAILURE TO ENSURE API COUPLERS ARE MAINTAINED CORRECTLY CAN LEAD TO DIMINISHED EFFICIENCY AND HEALTH HAZARDS IN DAILY TERMINAL OPERATIONS, OPW SAYS THERE ARE FEW things more disconcerting than discovering a leak when working in a terminal. Leaks lead to heightened safety problems and can cost a small fortune through lost product and downtime required for repairs, so reducing the chances of them occurring in the first place is priceless.

Fortunately, OPW Engineered Systems, a manufacturer of loading arms, swivel joints, process products and quick- and dry-disconnect fittings, has compiled a selection of key questions to answer that can help determine the cause of leaks.

 API COUPLERS FACE A LOT OF HARD WORK AND NEED TO BE INSPECTED REGULARLY TO AVOID LEAKS

Additionally, should a more detailed approach be required to discover the cause of a leak, informative videos can be found through OPW’s website.

EXAMINING EVIDENCE API couplers are used more frequently than most pieces of hardware in terminals, meaning coupler care is pivotal to ensuring optimised terminal operations. It is common for couplers to have more than 50 ‘head-on’ collisions and connections with truck adaptors every single day. This eventually adds up and can equate to damaged equipment or safety failures. Even with modern load heads and improved pieces of kit, there are some key questions that need to be asked to provide the smoothest operations.

Firstly, is the coupler leaking? If so, this is a key scenario that requires monitoring. If it’s the case that the coupler leaks while connected to a truck, it could indicate seal wear – specifically related to the nose seal – to the primary seal between the truck and coupler. Loading arm adjustment could also contribute to a minor leak. Ideally, loading arms should be balanced at the truck adaptor height. A major leak might indicate a weak or broken wave spring. Wave springs provide seal compression when connected to the truck adaptor. If this is the case, operators would have to take the coupler out of service for inspection or completely replacing the wave spring.

Is the coupler leaking when parked? Minor leaking while parked could also be due to seal wear, but it may signify greater problems.

Thermal expansion is known to affect API couplers if thermal reliefs are not in place and functioning fully. This then pushes the couplers to much higher pressures than their optimal operating ratings. It is possible that couplers could experience more than 34 bar during extreme thermal expansion. This can cause significant seal damage and potentially catastrophic failure. Even small issues, such as difficult to open and close handles, can be a sign of thermal damage.

Temperature, specifically cold weather, can be the culprit behind many leaks. Regardless of temperature, any terminal must keep flowing. Even though modern seals are reliable in temperatures down to -18°C, operators may need additional protection.

Special cold-weather seals designed for extreme cold can keep couplers in operation well below zero. If couplers are leaking in cold weather, verify the seal material and consider a lower temperature option.

Finally, are there troubles connecting to the truck adaptor? If so, thoroughly check the latches and cams of the couplers in question.

These areas are very prone to dirt and debris build-up, frequently causing cams to face difficulties, especially in winter months.

It cannot be overstated just how important regular inspections of couplers and connections in terminals are in being able to provide the most efficient, safe and effective facility. www.opw-es.com

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NEWS BULLETIN

TERMINAL EQUIPMENT

EMERSON AND CISCO GO WIRELESS

Emerson, a global technology and engineering company, is partnering with Cisco to introduce a next-generation industrial wireless networking solution that fundamentally transforms data management to improve plant productivity, reliability and safety. The new Emerson Wireless 1410S Gateway with the Cisco Catalyst® IW6300 Heavy Duty Series Access Point combines the latest in wireless technology with advanced WirelessHART® sensor technology, delivering reliable and highly secure data.

“A secure connection that scales easily is the foundation for every successful IoT deployment,” says Liz Centoni, senior vice-president and general manager IoT at Cisco. “By using the power of the intent-based network, Cisco provides a secure, automated, rock solid infrastructure helping IT and operational teams work together to reduce complexity and improve safety.”

The new product provides enhanced wi-fi bandwidth for real-time safety monitoring, including Emerson’s Location Awareness and wireless video services. A reliable and fast connection between devices and people streamlines decision making by providing real-time analytics and enables a mobile workforce to come together virtually, collaborate and resolve critical issues.

Industrial environments are frequently challenging and hazardous, requiring a scalable, resilient and flexible wi-fi solution that can withstand extreme conditions in remote locations. The new wireless access point supports mobile applications that offer instant access to process control data, maintenance information and operation procedures, enabling improved plant productivity and worker safety.

“Products installed in industrial plants need to last for years, even decades,” says Bob Karschnia, vice-president of wireless at Emerson.

“This kind of longevity was a critical design and engineering requirement to ensure this new

wireless access point was future-proofed to meet a rapidly evolving technology landscape.” www.emerson.com ELMAC EXPANDING OVER INDIA

Flame and explosion protection equipment producer Elmac Technologies has secured a partnership agreement in India with Envisafe Protection Technologies (EPT). The new joint venture will see Elmac further expand its presence in Asia and is a step closer to delivering on its strategy for growth by providing technically superior products through a network of preferred partners.

EPT, located in Mumbai, provides a full range of process safety products including flame arresters and pressure and vacuum relief valves to the region’s storage tank protection market. The joint venture will see EPT appointed as Elmac’s Indian licensee for the company’s full range of patent-protected flame arresters and lowpressure venting equipment.

Lew Bingham, managing director at Elmac Technologies, says: “We have an established and proven relationship with EPT and it’s really pleasing to be able to move the relationship on to the next level. The partnership brings together decades of experience and technical capability and presents a real opportunity to further develop our presence in the Indian subcontinent.”

“This is a fantastic opportunity to extend and develop our relationships with Elmac and to be in a position to provide market leading products to the region,” adds Swapnil Patil, managing director of EPT. “We are experiencing strong demand for flame arresters and low-pressure tank protection equipment and having access to world-class, patented technologies will allow us to meet the demands of our growing customer base.”

EPT has fully equipped manufacturing and testing facilities in India, all of which are accredited to ISO 9001 quality management system standards. The flame arresters manufactured on site will be in accordance with EN ISO 16852 and approved to ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU. elmactechnologies.com API INCREASES ITS SENIOR STAFFING

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has made three senior appointments in recent months. Shannon DiBari has joined as senior advisor to president and CEO Mike Sommers and executive vice-president and COO Amanda Eversole. Rhonda Bentz has joined as director of strategic initiatives and paid media and Bianca Domally has joined as financial controller.

“All three of these leaders are known for excellence in strategic and operational management and bring a wealth of experience in advocacy organizations – we are lucky to have them here at API,” says Sommers. “They will help bring creative, forward-thinking direction to our association and our membership in support of the critical role this industry plays in the world. We’re thrilled to have them.” www.api.org

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NEWS BULLETIN

STORAGE TERMINALS

VOPAK’S EUROPEAN CLEAR OUT

Vopak has completed the sale of its terminals in Amsterdam and Hamburg to First State Investments for a total consideration of some €600m. Vopak will book an exceptional after-tax gain of around €190m in its third-quarter figures.

The sale of Vopak’s Algeciras terminal had not been finalised as this issue went to press.

Vopak had been in discussion with its minority partner, Vilma Oil, to buy Vopak’s 80 per cent share but the plan is now for Vopak to buy Vilma’s 20 per cent interest and sell the facility to First State. The transaction is valued at €125m, from which Vopak expects to book an exceptional gain of some €10m. www.vopak.com HOUSTON WORK FOR ODFJELL

Odfjell Terminals (Houston) (OTH) has been selected to provide bulk liquid terminal services for a new acrylonitrile styrene acrylate plant being built by Ineos Styrolution at its existing complex in Bayport, Texas. Odfjell’s responsibilities will include the receipt, storage and pipeline transfer of butyl acrylate and acrylonitrile feedstocks, using Odjell’s nearby bulk liquids terminal as the initial receiving point. The new

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Ineos unit is due to be commissioned in 2021.

“OTH is extremely honoured to partner with Ineos Styrolution on its new Bayport ASA plant. We look forward to supporting this new plant and possibly other Ineos efforts for many years to come,” says Bill Law, senior manager, sales and business development at OTH. www.odfjell.com STOLT FLAT ON YEAR

Stolthaven Terminals has reported thirdquarter revenues of $62.9m and operating profit of $19.5m, with both figures and overall capacity utilisation virtually unchanged from the previous period. Both quarters included an exceptional gain, the third quarter’s reflecting the sale of the Altona terminal in Australia, which resulted in a book gain of $0.6m.

“We expect continued improvements in our results, driven by increased capacity and enhancements in operational performance and efficiency,” says Niels G Stolt-Nielsen, CEO of parent Stolt-Nielsen Ltd. www.stolt-nielsen.com KM PLANS FOR EXPANSION

Kinder Morgan has reported third quarter net income of $506m, down from the $693m

recorded for the same period last year, which included a one-off gain from the sale of its interest in the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Absent that sale, EBITDA for the first three quarters of this year is essentially flat compared to 2018.

Earnings from terminal operations were slightly down on the third quarter 2018, with Kinder Morgan president Kim Dang saying: “Our liquids business, which accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the segment total, saw incremental contributions from expansion projects. However, this increase was offset by increased tank lease costs at the Edmonton South Terminal, paid pursuant to a lease agreement with Trans Mountain that became a third-party arrangement due to our sale of Trans Mountain, and a variety of smaller items.”

Current investment projects include a $125m plan to increase flow rates at the Pasadena terminal and nearby Jefferson Street truck rack, alongside tank modifications that will add butane blending and vapour combustion capabilities to ten storage tanks, expansion of the current methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) storage and blending platform, and a new dedicated natural gasoline (C5) inbound connection.

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The improvements are supported by a long-term agreement with a major refiner and are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2020.

Elsewhere, Kinder Morgan is investing $45m to develop and construct a butane-ondemand blending system at the Galena Park terminal, due for completion in late 2020. This project will include construction of a new 30,000-bbl (4,770-m³) spherical tank for butane storage and adaptation of 25 tanks to allow butane blending. Another C$50m is going into expand distillate storage capacity at the Vancouver Wharves terminal in British Columbia; this involves construction of two new storage tanks with a combined capacity of 200,000 bbl (31,800 m3) and enhancements to rail tank car unloading capabilities. The project is underpinned by a 20-year take-orpay contract with an energy major and is due onstream around March 2021. www.kindermorgan.com COMING TOGETHER IN CUSHING

provide value chain solutions for long-term industry partners in a capital efficient manner,” adds Jeremy Goebel, executive vice-president, commercial at Plains All American. “This investment expands our relationship with a key operational hub service customer and provides additional long-term alignment on movements to the Tulsa refinery.” www.hollyenergy.com www.plainsallemerican.com PUMA OUT OF PARAGUAY

Puma Energy has sold its operations in Paraguay to Impala Terminals Group, a joint venture between Trafigura and IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, for some $200m. Puma’s assets in Paraguay include two terminals with a combined capacity of 72,300 m3, one located close to the border at Encarnación and a new facility close to the capital Asunción, as well as a network of service stations.

The deal is expected to close in first quarter 2020, with proceeds to be used to pay down

debt. The business will continue to operate under the Puma Energy brand. www.pumaenergy.com NEW HEAD FOR HES

HES International has appointed Daan Vos as its CEO as from 1 October. Vos has more than 20 years’ experience in the terminals sector and has served as group managing director of Oiltanking for the past four years.

Vos is expected to “bring strong leadership skills, significant expertise and deep customer relationships which he has built over a long and successful career,” say John Bruen and Philippe Camu, members of the Supervisory Board of HES International.

The Supervisory Board has also been boosted by the arrival on 1 October of Steven Lak, who has replaced JP Peterson. Lak has held executive positions at the Port of Rotterdam and at HES International subsidiary EMO, which runs the largest dry bulk terminal in Europe. www.hesinternational.eu

Holly Energy Partners (HEP) and Plains All American Pipeline have formed a 50/50 joint venture, Cushing Connect Pipeline & Terminal LLC, to develop a common carrier pipeline to link the Cushing crude oil hub in Oklahoma (right) with HollyFrontier’s (HFC) refining complex in Tulsa, as well as a 1.5m-bbl crude oil storage terminal in Cushing.

The terminal is expected to be in service in second quarter 2020 and will be managed by an affiliate of Plains All American. The two parties will share the investment cost, expected to be around $130m.

“The new joint Venture will provide growth to HEP by insourcing logistics spend and provide the capability to supply 100 per cent of HFC’s Tulsa refinery crude throughput,” says George Damiris, CEO of HEP’s general partner. “Our partnership with Plains generates HEP growth while providing HFC long-term control of a strategic asset.”

“This win-win joint venture aligns with our strategy of optimising existing assets to

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38 INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING

blocks or complete pallets made from PCR material, Mauser’s standard IBCs are prepared to meet the stringent obligations for recycled material content regarding plastics packaging.

ROUND AND ROUND SUSTAINABILITY • MAUSER HAS EXTENDED ITS INFINITY SERIES WITH THE ADDITION OF IBCS AND MULTILAYER PLASTICS DRUMS, OFFERING USERS MORE OPTIONS TO BOOST THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE MAUSER PACKAGING SOLUTIONS unveiled its latest innovative product range extensions at the FachPack 2019 event in Nürnburg, Germany this past September, the Infinity Series of intermediate bulk containers (IBCs).

There were also updates to existing products within the Infinity Series, such as the popular open head and tighthead plastics drums.

The latest developments in the product range have been designed to make industrial packagings even more sustainable in a circular economy. The items are made of post-consumer resin (PCR) granules and high

 MAUSER’S INFINITY SERIES HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO OFFER A WIDE RANGE OF DRUM SIZES

quality recyclates that offer a lower carbon footprint compared to virgin material.

The main feature of the new Infinity Series IBC is that it is equipped with a two-layer inner receptacle made from PCR. Mauser states that “incorporating high quality PCR generated from empty-used IBCs demonstrates circular handling of plastic materials at its best”.

Being able to conserve natural resources and reduce CO² emissions in the manufacturing chain, Mauser’s Infinity Series IBC represents a viable packaging alternative with a long-term sustainability ethos. The Infinity Series also complements Mauser’s broad portfolio of new and reconditioned IBCs for sensitive or hazardous filling materials.

With plastics components such as pallet

DEVELOPING PCR DRUMS Mauser’s Infinity Series has presented plastics packaging made of recycled material since its inception. When it was first introduced, the drums in the Infinity Series were one of the first UN-certified monolayer drums made of almost 100 per cent PCR material.

Furthermore, these products include the whole volume range of open head drums from 30 to 220 litres capacity, plus the 220-litre L-Ring PLUS® tight head drum.

The drums in the Infinity Series are now not only available in monolayer material, but also in innovative two- and three-layer configurations, encapsulating the recycled material in dedicated areas that are not in direct contact with the filling material.

Users can now opt for two-layer and three-layer open head drum options with a capacity from 120 to 220 l. These drums are UN-certified for hazardous solids up to Packing Group I. “With the Infinity Series, we are contributing to greater sustainability in industrial packaging – this makes us a global innovation leader,” says Klaus-Peter Schmidt, head of global product development and global sustainability management at Mauser Packaging Solutions.

“Since the launch of the Infinity Series in 2014, we have continuously expanded our product portfolio with PCR materials. Besides 100 per cent-PCR-products in monolayer technology, Mauser now also provides products in multilayer technology, such as the latest addition to the two- and three-layer open head drum with a capacity of 120 to 220 litres, which was just presented on the FachPack 2019.”

Mauser is a global leader in industrial packaging lifecycle solutions and services, providing a huge array of products to customers, including plastics, metal and fibre drums in various sizes as well as IBCs, worldwide to companies in industries from food, beverage, personal care and pharmaceuticals to chemicals, petrochemicals, agrochemicals and paints. www.mauserpackaging.com

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING 39

40

CONTAINERS FOR RUSSIA PRODUCTION • ONGOING INVESTMENT IN RUSSIA’S CHEMICAL SECTOR IS PROMPTING A MATCHING EXPANSION OF INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING CAPACITY, AS GREIF’S LATEST PROJECT SHOWS

will be equipped with the latest high-tech equipment and will also able to provide foodgrade services. The current Greif IBC facility in Kazan is already running at full capacity, making this new project essential to be able to manage growing demand for industrial packagings and to continue to ensure the supply of high-quality products.

RUSSIA HAS SEEN a steady increase in the level of investment within its borders from the chemical industry in recent months and Greif has joined the trend, funding a second intermediate bulk container (IBC) production plant in the city of Kaluga, 160 km southwest of Moscow. The new plant is adjacent to its existing steel drum production site in the Vorsino Industrial Park. This particular

EXPANDING FRONTIERS Konstantin Savinov, Greif’s director of operations EMEA Eastern Europe, comments: “The opening of a new IBC facility in Russia underlines Greif’s ongoing commitment to the market.

Continued investment from local government and multinational corporations, as well as its proximity to several of Greif’s key customers, makes Kaluga an attractive region.”

Complementing Savinov’s comments about the region being an attractive investment for Greif, Luca Bettoni, EMEA

region of Russia was chosen because of its advantageous geographic location within the Moscow transport hub and proximity to several of Greif’s key customers.

The new facility will cover 5,500 m² and is expected to double Greif’s production capacity for IBCs in Russia. The facility

IBC and plastic product manager, says: “Russia is the world’s largest country by land area and is an emerging market.

Kaluga’s location combines logistical accessibility and close proximity to key customers and markets in central and southern Russia and the CIS region.”

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

When discussing the direct benefits of working in this area, Savinov notes: “More than 800 new chemical plants are expected to be launched under Russia’s chemical import substitution programme between 2020 and 2030. At the present time, we are observing exponential growth in demand for foodgrade IBCs, mainly for edible oils and animal feedstuffs. For Greif, it means an opportunity to satisfy increasing demand for best-quality industrial packaging, supplying the market with foodgrade IBCs certified in accordance with international standards.

The new production line in Kaluga will allow us to capture this growth and better serve existing customers located in and around the region.

“The investment will allow us to serve our customers by offering more flexibility, reduced lead times and lower transportation costs as well as the ability to dispatch combined batches of steel drums and IBCs. It will also mean we have the capacity to secure new contracts, particularly in the food industry, as well as coatings, petrochemicals and specialty chemicals.”

“The Kaluga site will be able to produce all of Greif’s GCUBE IBC configurations in line with all of its global GCUBE sites (14 in total),” says Bettoni. “This allows Greif customers to receive the same product everywhere they need it, ensuring the highest standards in terms of safety, quality and cleanliness.”

Currently, Greif operates seven steel drum production facilities in Russia in addition to its IBC capabilities, boasting nearly 300 operating locations situated across over 40 countries in total.

NEW FACE FOR FRANCE On the other side of Europe, Stephane Serrano has been appointed by Greif as sales director for France. Serrano will oversee the performance of the sales team across France by taking a strategic lead on new business development opportunities, as well as supporting the growth of existing customers through Greif’s product solution range.

Serrano has more than 15 years of experience in sales and marketing in industrial markets, covering the food

INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING 41

processing, animal feed, chemical and mining and minerals sectors. Having been responsible for the development and implementation of sales and marketing strategies in previous roles, Serrano has a proven track record of driving growth without compromising quality.

Greif’s regional sales director for Western Europe, Michael Vvedenskiy, comments: “With his enthusiasm, commercial awareness and previous experience, Stephane will be a huge asset to our operations in France. His appointment strengthens our commitment to delivering customer service excellence and progressive industry leadership.”

Greif operates three production facilities across France in Rouen, Laudun and Lille.

Its product portfolio includes steel drums, IBCs and plastics drums serving customers in the chemical, lubricants, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, nuclear and petrochemicals markets. www.greif.com

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TRAINING COURSES BRITISH INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT ASSOCIATION (BIFA) Redfern House, Browells Lane Feltham, Middlesex TW13 7EP, UK T (+44 20) 8844 3625 www.bifa.org

P O Box 580026 Houston, TX 77258-0026, USA T (+1 281) 333 4672 www.cargotraining.com

Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (Refresher) • February 26-28 – Heathrow • February 26-28 – Manchester CHEMICAL HAZARDS COMMUNICATION SOCIETY PO Box 899 Oxford OX1 9QG, UK T (+44 333) 210 2427 www.chcs.org.uk

Dangerous Goods by Air • January 13-15 – Manchester Dangerous Goods by Air – Revalidation • February 7 – Manchester Dangerous Goods by Road and Sea • February 4-6 – Manchester Dangerous Goods by Road – Upgrade • January 16 – Manchester Dangerous Goods by Sea – Upgrade • January 17 – Manchester Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser • February 24-28 – Manchester

Dangerous Goods by Air – ICAO (full course) • December 2-4 – Heathrow • December 9-11 – Dallas • January 6-8 – Heathrow • January 13-15 – Birmingham, UK • January 15-17 – Manchester • February 3-5 – Heathrow Dangerous Goods by Air – Revalidation • December 5-6 – Heathrow • December 10-11 – Dallas • January 9-10 – Heathrow • January 16-17 – Birmingham, UK • January 16-17 – Manchester • February 6-7 – Heathrow Dangerous Goods by Road – ADR (full course) • January 20-22 – Heathrow • February 24-26 – Birmingham, UK • March 9-11 – Manchester Dangerous Goods by Road – Revalidation • January 21-22 – Heathrow • February 25-26 – Birmingham, UK • March 10-11 – Manchester Dangerous Goods by Sea (IMDG) • December 12-13 – Dallas • January 23-24 – Heathrow • February 13-14 – Glasgow IMDG – Sea – Revalidation • December 13 – Dallas Lithium Batteries Multimodal • January 30-31 – Heathrow Lithium Batteries by Air

RamMaster Level 1 – Foundation • January 14 – Oldham RamMaster Level 2 – Road Consignment and Transport • January 15-16 – Oldham RamMaster Level 2 – Rail Consignment & Transport • January 30 – Oldham RamMaster Level 2 – Air

Dangerous Goods by Air • November 25-27 – Aberdeen • December 2-4 – Aberdeen • December 9-11 – Aberdeen • December 16-18 – Aberdeen Dangerous Goods by Air – Revalidation • November 19-20 – Aberdeen • December 10-11 – Aberdeen Radioactive Materials by Air • November 26-27 – Aberdeen • December 17-18 – Aberdeen Lithium Batteries by Air • November 25-26 – Aberdeen Dangerous Goods by Sea • November 21-22 – Aberdeen • November 28-29 – Aberdeen

CARGO TRAINING INTERNATIONAL PO Box 176 Shepperton TW17 8WP, UK T (+44 1932) 769682

• January 30 – Heathrow Infectious Substances by Air • February 4 – Elstree Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser • February 24-28 – Heathrow • February 24-28 – Manchester

Consignment Upgrade • January 28 – Oldham RamMaster Level 2 – Sea Consignment Upgrade • January 29 – Oldham

• December 4-6 – Aberdeen • December 12-13 – Aberdeen • December 19-20 – Aberdeen Radioactive Materials by Sea • November 28-29 – Aberdeen • December 19-20 – Aberdeen

Dangerous Goods by Air • December 2-4 – Feltham Dangerous Goods by Air – Revalidation • December 5-6 – Feltham Radioactive Materials by Air • November 21-22 – Feltham Radioactive Materials by Air – Revalidation • November 22 – Feltham CAMEON PO Box 17345 Edinburgh EH12 1DJ, UK T (+44 131) 334 1929 www.cameon.com

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

Chemical Safety Assessment – The Science and Theory for Risk Characterisation • December 3 – London The Extended SDS – Understanding Exposure Scenarios • December 4 – London CLASS 7 LTD 9 Irk Vale Drive Chadderton Oldham OL1 2TW, UK T (+44 161) 628 6677 www.class7.co.uk

DANGO TRAINING SERVICES 169 Affric Road Glenrothes KY7 6XA, UK T (+44 1592) 748234 www.dangerousgoodstrainingdts. co.uk Dangerous Goods by Air • November 18-20 – Aberdeen • December 2-4 – Aberdeen • December 9-11 – Aberdeen Dangerous Goods by Sea • November 21-22 – Aberdeen • December 5-6 – Aberdeen • December 12-13 – Aberdeen DGM UK Unit 1 Site 4, Howe Moss Drive Kirkhill Industrial Estate Dyce, Aberdeen AB21 0GL, UK T (+44 1224) 773776 www.dgm.co.uk

COURSES & CONFERENCES 43

ADR Initial (except 1&7) • December 2-6 – Aberdeen ADR Initial (Classes 1&7) • December 9-10 – Aberdeen ADR Refresher • November 19-22 – Aberdeen • December 17-20 – Aberdeen ADR for Consignors • December 2-3 – Aberdeen Dangerous Goods by Road – General Awareness • December 13 – Aberdeen Dangerous Goods by Air & Sea – General Awareness • December 9 – Aberdeen

Quebec, Canada.

T (+1 514) 874 0202 www.iata.org/training

Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) – Initial, Category 6 • December 9-13 – Geneva • January 13-17 – Singapore • January 13-17 – Miami • January 20-24 – Geneva • January 27-31 – Lagos • February 17-21 – Amsterdam Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) – Recurrent, Category 6 • November 20-22 – Geneva • December 4-6 – Singapore HAZMATEAM • January 8-10 – Geneva 12 Kimball Hill Road • January 8-10 – Miami Hudson, NH 03051-3915, USA • February 5-7 – Singapore T (+1 603) 882 1112 Dangerous Goods Regulations www.hazmateam.com (DGR) – Shippers and Packers – Cat 1 and 2 US DOT Hazardous Materials • December 17-19 – Miami Regulations (49 CFR) Ground Dangerous Goods Regulations Transportation – Initial (DGR) – Instructor Refresher • February 5-7 – Hudson • November 27-29 – Geneva US DOT Hazardous Materials • December 17-19 – Singapore Regulations (49 CFR) Ground • February 26-28 – London Transportation – Advanced Dangerous Goods Management Refresher and Regulatory Updates • December 12 – Hudson • December 2-3 – Geneva • February 13 – Hudson Professional Skills for DGR International Air Shipping – Initial Instructors – Categories 1,2,3,6 • December 17-19 – Hudson • November 25-29 – Singapore • February 18-20 – Hudson • December 2-6 – Geneva International Air Shipping – • December 16-20 – Hong Kong Refresher • February 3-5 – Geneva • December 9-10 – Hudson • February 10-14 – Taipei • February 10-11 – Hudson Instructional Techniques for Water Transportation of DGR (for categories 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, Dangerous Goods (IMDG) – Initial 10, 11, 12) • December 3-4 – Hudson • December 2-6 – Beijing • February 17-21 – Frankfurt INTERNATIONAL AIR Shipping Lithium Batteries by Air TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION • January 9-10 – Hong Kong 800 Place Victoria, PO Box 113 • January 30-31 – Geneva Montreal H4Z 1M1 Infectious Substances Transport

• January 22-24 – Miami NOVADATA TAB LTD 3 Blackwell Drive Springwood Industrial Estate Braintree, Essex CM7 2QJ, UK T (+44 1376) 552999 www.novadata.co.uk Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser ADR Core, Packages • December 9-12 – Braintree • January 13-16 – Braintree • February 10-13 – Braintree ADR Tanks Add-On Course • December 12-13 – Braintree • January 16-17 – Braintree • February 13-14 – Braintree ADR Dangerous Goods Awareness • December 9 – Braintree • February 17 – Braintree SPECIALIST TRAINING & CONSULTANCY 6 Venture Court Altham Industrial Estate Altham, Lancs BB5 5TU, UK T (+44 1282) 687090 www.specialisttraining.co.uk

TRANSPORTATION SAFETY INSTITUTE Hazmat Training Division 6500 South MacArthur Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73135, USA T (+1 405) 954 4500 www.tsi.dot.gov Air Transportation of Hazardous Materials • March 2-4 – Oklahoma City Transportation of Hazardous Materials • December 9-12 – Oklahoma City • January 13-16 – Oklahoma City Transportation of Hazardous Materials (Recurrent) • December 10-12 – Oklahoma City • January 14-16 – Oklahoma City Infectious Substance Transportation • February 4-5 – Oklahoma City Transporting Lithium Batteries • March 5 – Oklahoma City

ADR Class 1 • February 14 – Accrington ADR Initial – Packages & Tanks • November 25-29 – Accrington • January 6-10 – Accrington ADR Initial – Packages • February 10-13 – Accrington ADR Class 7 • February 14 – Accrington Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor

WARSASH MARITIME TACADEMY Newtown Road, Warsash Southampton SO31 9ZL, UK T (+44 1489) 556216 www.warsashacademy.co.uk Basic Oil and Chemical Tanker Cargo Operations • December 2-3 – Southampton • January 6-7 – Southampton Advanced Oil Tanker Cargo Operations • February 3-7 – Southampton Basic Liquefied Gas Tanker Cargo Operations • January 27-28 – Southampton Advanced Liquefied Gas Tanker

• February 24-28 – Accrington Carriage of Dangerous Goods

by Air (IATA) • January 27-29 – Accrington Healthcare Waste Management • January 16-17 – Accrington

Cargo Operations • December 9-13 – Southampton • February 17-21 – Southampton Advanced Chemical Tanker Cargo Operations • February 10-14 – Southampton

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WINTER GULF TRIP PREVIEW • THE 14TH ANNUAL GPCA FORUM PROMISES ONCE MORE TO ATTRACT THE LEADING MINDS AND DECISION MAKERS IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY TO DUBAI IN DECEMBER

THE GULF PETROCHEMICALS and Chemicals Association (GPCA) will host its 14th Annual Forum in Dubai this coming 3 to 5 December, with HE Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi, Oman’s Minister of Oil and Gas, due to open proceedings. The leading minds across the

challenges of a changing business environment.

The 2019 event is set to discuss how these observations and topics have developed over the last 12 months and look at how 2020 can generate further successes.

Building on its 2018 success, the forum will feature a new masterclass series covering a range of topics, while a prestigious speaker list of senior industry leaders will make their views known throughout the conference. Some of the key topics to be discussed at the forum include: trade in a protectionist environment, the importance of human capital for fostering business competitiveness, and the future outlook for the petrochemical industry. There will also be seminars discussing the global chemicals market, innovation, disruptive technologies and the future of plastics.

chemical industry in the Gulf will discuss all aspects of the industry, personifying this years’ theme: ‘Winning through Strategic Partnerships’.

At last year’s gathering, industry leaders emphasised the need to invest strategically, prepare for global growth and face the

A-LIST CONFERENCE The GPCA Annual Forum is widely regarded as the foremost chemical industry meeting in the Arabian Gulf region and has developed a reputation for providing the highest quality expert-led discussions. To keep 2019 in line

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

with these high expectations, key speakers for the conference will represent some of the world’s largest chemical firms; they include Yousef Al-Benyan, CEO of SABIC and GPCA chairman, who will present the opening remarks; Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell and president of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), who will deliver the keynote address; Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company; Saori Dubourg, member of the board of executive directors of BASF; and Eelco Hoekstra, chairman of the executive board and CEO of Royal Vopak.

Other esteemed speakers include Darren Davis, CEO of Ma’aden, and Christian Kullmann, chairman of the executive board of Evonik Industries. Davis and Kullmann will discuss different partnership scenarios and how to unlock growth opportunities through innovation and sustainability. Their discussion points will be complemented

by Adam Sieminski, president of the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC).

CHANGE-MAKING DEALS The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are emerging as a leading region in the production and export of chemicals. This is due to regional players focusing on generating new and existing partnerships locally and internationally, investing in high-growth markets and building critical mass to increase industry competitiveness.

In the last 12 months, there have been $14.2bn worth of mega-projects and mergers and acquisition deals taking place in the Arabian Gulf – an outstanding testament to the development and importance of the region. Many of these projects will be discussed and evaluated in depth during the forum with presentations and speeches from those involved. Details of the $9bn Amiral project by Saudi Aramco and Total will be presented by Jean-Jacques Mosconi, senior vice-president refining and petrochemicals at Total; The $2.2bn Sipchem-Sahara merger will be discussed

COURSES & CONFERENCES 45

 HE DR MOHAMMED BIN HAMAD AL RUMHI, OMAN’S MINISTER OF OIL AND GAS, WILL OPEN THE EVENT

39 YEARS 1980-2019

in detail by Saleh Bahamdan, CEO of Sahara International Petrochemicals Company; and the downstream integration of Oman Oil Company and Orpic (estimated to produce $3bn in returns over its implementation period) is to be presented by Musab AlMahruqi, group CEO of Oman Oil and Orpic Group.

Dr Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, GPCA’s secretary general, comments: “With change-making deals such as Saudi Aramco’s $10bn initial public offering – billed as the largest IPO in history – and its acquisition of a 70 per cent stake in SABIC, the Arabian Gulf region has dominated global headlines, making the annual GPCA forum the place to be this December to obtain first-hand intelligence about the latest developments shaping global and regional markets, inform your

business strategy and build long lasting strategic partnerships.”

Al-Sadoun adds: “Starting from humble beginnings in 2006, the forum has emerged as the largest chemical gathering of senior industry leaders in the Arabian Gulf, consistently attracting over 2,000 delegates from over 50 countries across the globe, offering an unparalleled platform to gain exclusive insight into current and future business trends, meet with senior industry executives from some of the largest chemical firms globally and uncover new ways of stimulating business growth. Uniquely positioned in one of the central logistics hubs globally, the forum has successfully connected east and west, serving as an exclusive getaway to chemical markets globally.” gpcaforum.net

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46 COURSES & CONFERENCES

CONFERENCE DIARY NOVEMBER Intermodal Europe NOVEMBER 5-7, HAMBURG Annual trade show and conference for the container, transport and logistics industry www.intermodal-events.com European Autumn Gas Conference NOVEMBER 5-7, PARIS 34th annual conference on Europe’s position in the global natural gas/LNG industry www.theeagc.com Argus Asia LPG & Petrochemical Feedstocks NOVEMBER 6-7, SHANGHAI Conference for LPG suppliers and buyers to discuss critical issues www.argusmedia.com/en/conferences-eventslisting/lpg-and-petrochemical-feedstocks Oil & Gas East Africa NOVEMBER 7-9, DAR ES SALAAM Fifth exhibition for the oil and gas sectors in Tanzania www.expogr.com/tanzania/oilgas/ APLA Annual Meeting NOVEMBER 9-12, BUENOS AIRES 39th annual Latin American petrochemical conference www.apla.com.ar/en/ ADIPEC NOVEMBER 11-14, ABU DHABI 35th annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference www.adipec.com NACD Annual Meeting NOVEMBER 11-14, MARCO ISLAND, FL 48th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Chemical Distributors www.nacd.com/education-meetings/meetings/ annual-meeting/2019-annual-meeting/ Hazards Australasia 2019 NOVEMBER 13-14, BRISBANE Conference on process safety management in the chemicals sector www.icheme.org/career/events/hazardsaustralasia-2019/ ECTA 2019 NOVEMBER 14, DÜSSELDORF Annual meeting of the European Chemical Transport Association www.ecta.com/event-3232788

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

Opslagtanks NOVEMBER 14, DORDRECHT Dutch-language conference on storage tank and terminal safety in the ARA port area http://iir.nl/events/opslagtanks/ Oil Terminal 2019 NOVEMBER 14-15, ST PETERSBURG 13th oil terminal congress and exhibition www.oilterminal.org/en 2nd Hazchem Conference NOVEMBER 20-21, PERTH Second conference on GHS and workplace safety in Western Australia www.events.idc-online.com/upcomingconferences/hazardous-chemicals-hazchemconference-perth-wa The Med Hub Day 2019 NOVEMBER 21-22, TARRAGONA Third annual workshop on regional tank storage issues www.hubdaytarragona.com

JANUARY Platts’ Gas Storage Outlook JANUARY 7-8, HOUSTON 18th annual conference on gas storage issues in North America www.spglobal.com/platts/en/events/americas/ gas-storage-outlook/summary Argus Middle East LPG JANUARY 15-16, ABU DHABI Conference on regional LPG trade issues www.argusmedia.com/en/conferences-eventslisting/middle-east-lpg European Oil Storage Conference JANUARY 22-23, AMSTERDAM Platts’ 13th annual conference on oil markets for terminal owners, ports, oil traders, financiers and analysts www.spglobal.com/platts/en/events/emea/ european-oil-storage/summary

EEMUA Storage Tanks Seminar NOVEMBER 28, DURHAM Annual EEMUA seminar to address issues with storage tanks www.eemua.org/tni/Calendar/Events/2019/Nov/ EEMUA-Annual-Storage-19.aspx

COHMED JANUARY 27-31, LOUISVILLE Annual conference of the Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) programme https://cvsa.org/eventpage/events/cohmedconference/

DECEMBER

FEBRUARY

GPCA Forum DECEMBER 3-5, DUBAI 14th annual meeting of the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association www.gpcaforum.net

Storck Symposium 2020 FEBRUARY 17-18, HAMBURG 36th annual conference on dangerous goods transport (German language) www.ecomed-storck.de/Veranstaltungen

Argus US LPG & Petrochemical Feedstocks DECEMBER 3-5, HOUSTON Conference for LPG suppliers, traders and midstream logistics operators www.argusmedia.com/en/conferences-eventslisting/americas-lpg

International Petroleum Week (IP Week) FEBRUARY 25-27, LONDON Annual week of meetings, lunches, conferences and seminars in London www.ipweek.co.uk/

World LNG Summit DECEMBER 3-6, ROME 20th annual conference and awards dinner https://world.cwclng.com/ NISTM DECEMBER 10-11, THE WOODLANDS, TX 12th annual National Aboveground Storage Tank Conference and Trade Show www.nistm.org

Hazardex 2020 & PPTEx FEBRUARY 26-27, HARROGATE Conference and exhibition on hazardous area operations and personal protective technology www.hazardexonthenet.net/event. aspx?EventID=4848 IATA World Cargo Symposium MARCH 10-12, ISTANBUL 14th global conference on air cargo www.iata.org/events/wcs/pages/index.aspx

COURSES & CONFERENCES 47

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INCIDENT LOG ROAD/RAIL/AIR INCIDENTS Date

Location

Vehicle Type

Substance

2/8/19

Irvine, freight train flammables Alberta, Canada

At least 10 cars of CP train derailed near Medicine Hat; cargo unclear but said to include flammable chemicals; Globe & 7-km evacuation zone; one car on fire, with flames spreading to grass; Trans-Canada Highway closed Mail

3/8/19

Kuala Lumpur, road tanker diesel Malaysia

Road tanker with diesel caught fire in heavy rain on Klang Valley Expressway; vehicle largely destroyed in blaze but no injuries reported; fire crews were quickly on scene; no indication of cause

4/8/19

Eureka county, road tanker Nevada, US

Tractor-trailer ran into rear of tank truck with sulphuric acid on I-80; tank was breached, leaking acid to road; KKOH both drivers hospitalised; road closed during response

5/8/19

nr White City, road tanker jet fuel Oregon, US

Double tank trailer with aviation fuel to support wildfire response efforts overturned on Antioch Road, spilling KDRV some 2,500 gal (9.5 m³) fuel from rear trailer; driver hospitalised; road closed for 12 hours

10/8/19

Morogoro, road tanker gasoline Tanzania

More than 100 people thought to have died when road tanker exploded after rolling over on busy road after trying to avoid motorcycle; thought that most of those killed were collecting fuel spilling from tanker

CNN

13/8/19

Clairton, road tanker gasoline Pennsylvania, US

Tank truck with 8,000 gal (30 m³) gasoline crashed over embankment onto rail tracks near Clairton Coke Works plant; driver said brakes failed; NS train managed to stop before hitting wreck

WPXI

17/8/19

Sulaimani, road tanker fuel Iraq

Road tanker overturned, caught fire on Erbil-Khabat road; driver rescued by bystanders and not badly hurt; road closed while fire crews dealt with blaze

NRT Digital

17/8/19

nr Culbertson, truck radioactives Montana, US

Owl Inc truck carrying low radioactive oilfield filters failed to yield at crossing, was struck by BNSF passenger train; both men in cab were killed; filters were thrown across tracks; no lights at the crossing

AP

18/8/19

Rubirizi, road tanker fuel Uganda

Road tanker failed to negotiate curve, fell over onto other vehicles near shops, caught fire; blaze spread quickly to properties; at least 20 people known to have died in fire; fire crews took two hours to arrive

PML Daily

19/8/19

Putnam Valley, road tanker asphalt New York, US

Tank truck crashed into tree, spilling some 3,300 gal (12.5 m³) ‘liquid asphalt material’ into stream; driver said brakes failed; water intake for nearby town of Peekskill shut off; driver suffered broken leg

USA Today

20/8/19

nr Chinook, road tanker fuel Alberta, Canada

At least 10 vehicles were involved in crash on Highway 9; one road tanker with fuel caught fire, spreading blaze to other vehicles; three killed, ten injured; accident happened near road works

Global News

21/8/19

Warren county, road tanker Mississippi, US

flammable chemical

Sindle Trucking tank truck with “petroleum-based chemical” was in collision with tractor on US 61, causing gash in tank; some cargo spilled to road but did not catch fire; shelter-in-place ordered for nearby school

Vicksburg Post

22/8/19

Palma, road tanker Mallorca, Spain

aviation fuel

Fire broke out on valve of tanker engaged in aircraft refuelling at Palma airport; tanker was moved clear of the aircraft while airport fire crews attended; fire did not spread to tank; no injuries reported

Euro Weekly

24/8/19

Mowe, road tanker fuel Ogun, Nigeria

Road tanker overturned on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway outside NIPCO filling station, spilling fuel; some people seen collecting fuel but no fire occurred; road closed for several hours, causing severe delays

Punch

26/8/19

Sagana, road tanker gasoline Central, Kenya

Road tanker lost control on hill on Kenol-Sagana road, hitting other vehicles; tanker caught fire; driver fled; five people injured in collisions but no casualties as a result of fire

Citizen Digital

26/8/19

nr Lobdell, road tankers flammables Louisiana, US

Multi-vehicle collision on Atchafalaya Basin Bridge on I-10 caused major fire, with at least three tank trucks involved, some carrying flammable materials; one dead, several injured; road closed in both directions

KATC

30/8/19

Dikko, road tanker gasoline Niger, Nigeria

Road tanker exploded on Kaduna-Abuja highway, cause unknown; driver fled; fire destroyed 19 vehicles, 35 nearby shops; six people killed, several more injured; state authorities advised traders to relocate

Sahara Reporters

sulphuric acid

Details

Source

Malay Mail

MARINE/INLAND WATERWAY INCIDENTS Date

Location

Details

Source

9/8/19

off Gujarat, APL Le Havre unknown India

Fire broke out in six containers in aft section of 10,100-teu containership from Karachi for Mumbai; crew managed to bring fire under control; vessel brought to Mundra for inspection; no injuries reported

Splash 24/7

12/8/19

Little Calumet River, — cyanide Indiana, US

Discharge of cyanide and ammonia from ArcelorMittal plant caused major fish kill in river and nearby marina; locals concerned that it took several days to be alerted, despite clear signs of pollution in water

RSOE

15/8/19

Lagos, Sea Voyager — Nigeria

Fire broke out aboard product tanker (6,700 dwt, 1992) during anchoring off Lagos; tanker appeared to be in ballast at the time; crew evacuated; fire teams dealt with blaze; cause unknown

FleetMon

16/8/19

nr Port Sulphur, pipeline crude oil Louisiana, US

Oil leak from Time Energy pipeline was largely contained in Cox Bay, though there was some pollution of marshland that could not be recovered; operator, OMI Environmental and USCG working to mitigate impact

Maritime Executive

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

Vessel

Substance

SAFETY 49

MISCELLANEOUS INCIDENTS Date

Location

Plant type

Substance

Details

Source

28/7/19

Zaporizhya, Ukraine

titanium plant

titanium tetrachloride

Failure on transfer line led to leak of titanium tetrachloride at ZTML titanium-magnesium plant; responders used water curtain to prevent leak spreading; no off-site impact reported

AP

31/7/19

Baytown, oil refinery olefins Texas, US

Explosion, fire in olefins unit at ExxonMobil refinery caused 66 site personnel to receive treatment; 5,000 nearby residents ordered to shelter in place; county fire marshal investigating cause

NBC

31/7/19

New Haven, Connecticut, US

Nearby businesses warned to stay indoors after leak of chlorine at Kuehne Company plant, which makes pool treatment chemicals; fire crews brought situation under control without injury

NBC

1/8/19

Lincoln county, pipeline natural gas Kentucky, US

Enbridge’s 30-inch line from Texas to New York ruptured, causing major fire and damage to nearby area; one person died, five others were injured; NTSB investigating incident

Courier Journal

2/8/19

Nextlalpan, pipeline LPG México, Mexico

Some 2,000 people were evacuated from rural community north of Mexico City due to leak of LPG from Pemex line following illegal tap; nearby road, rail line closed; gas supply shut off, line purged

Wash’ton Post

5/8/19

Achinsk, arms depot munitions Siberia, Russia

At least eight people injured by series of explosions at ammunition store used for artillery shells; two more explosions at the site a few days later injured more, caused property damage nearby; 16,000 evacuated

TASS

9/8/19

Reyhanli, arms depot ammunition Hatay, Turkey

Series of explosions at military ammunition depot close to football stadium near border with Syria; main highway, other roads closed; no indication of casualties; cause under investigation

Arab News

13/8/19

Msunduzi, KZN, South Africa

edible oil oils, acids factory

Unspecified accident at Willowton Group edible oil refinery spilled substantial amount of oil and “caustic acid” RSOE to nearby land and streams; local authorities auditing plant’s procedures; significant fish kill

14/8/19

Siem Reap, Cambodia

filling gasoline station

Explosion at illegal filling station during delivery of fuel; 13 people, including tourists, severely injured; police were searching for owner of the filling station; thought that spark from power supply ignited vapours

CNE

14/8/19

Al-Hartha, pipeline natural gas Basra, Iraq

Explosion on main gas line cut off power to local area, led to major fire; incident thought to be due to technical error that stopped gas flow

Kurdistan 24

16/8/19

Savannah, Georgia, US

chemical distributor

Fire broke out in warehouse containing petroleum products at Nexeo Plastics facility; fire crews managed to contain fire to warehouse building and bring it under control; cause of fire not known

SBJ

17/8/19

Patancheru, Telangana, India

chemical solvents plant

Fire broke out at National Chemical plant during transfer of chemical solvents to storage shed; thought that spark triggered the fire; small explosions spread fire to another storage unit, causing substantial damage

Times of India

18/8/19

San Nicolás, perfumery chemicals NL, Mexico

Fire broke out at Kemcare facility, leading to series of explosions; authorities recommended residents evacuate; power outages reported nearby; cause under investigation

El Horizonte

21/8/19

Geismar, Louisiana, US

hydrochloric acid

Leak in pipe at Westlake Chemicals’ VCM unit released hydrochloric acid, which formed a cloud; unit shut down, roads closed; no injuries reported; cause under investigation

WBRZ

23/8/19

Dammam, factory Saudi Arabia

hydrogen sulphide

39 workers were injured (some reports incorrectly said they were killed) by leak of hydrogen sulphide at factory (possibly metallurgical plant); no further details available

Reuters

24/8/19

Goregaon, warehouses chemicals Mumbai, India

Fire broke out in two godowns used to store chemicals and pharmaceuticals in Udyog Nagar industrial estate; Mumbai two firemen needed treatment for smoke inhalation; fire proved very difficult to fight Mirror

24/8/19

Cato Ridge, Natal, South Africa

Some 500 t pellets of mercuric chloride were burned in a fire in a warehouse at Metallica Chemicals plant; health concerns raised due to smoke from fire; nearby businesses invited to evacuate

IOL

24/8/19

Ocumare del Tuy, gas filling LPG Miranda, Venezuela plant

Explosion at PdVSA gas filling plant led to evacuation of 6,500 people; fire brought under control with no casualties; authorities spoke of sabotage and terrorist activity

Morning Star

26/8/19

Rochester, postal depot mercury New York, US

USPS distribution centre was closed after leak of mercury from package; customer facility in Syracuse was also closed after contamination was found; package has been on its way from Rochester to Marcellus

WHAM

28/8/19

Omachi, ironworks oil Saga, Japan

Up to 114 m³ unspecified oil leaked from ironworks; thought that torrential rain caused water to flow into the plant and wash the oil out; nearby rice fields, residential area affected but spill did not reach river or sea

RSOE

28/8/19

Orhionmwon, filling station gasoline Edo, Nigeria

Fire broke out at filling station, apparently in pump, during delivery of gasoline; nearby residents gathered to try and put fire out but were overcome; some minor injuries reported

Nigerian Observer

28/8/19

Bayonne, oil terminal New Jersey, US

Five workers needed hospital treatment after leak of sodium hydroxide at IMTT terminal; operator did not reveal many details about the incident

Hudson Reporter

31/8/19

Dhule, Maharashtra, India

13 workers killed, more than 70 injured by series of explosions in gas cylinders; incident was aggravated by presence of hydrogen cylinders and drummed chemicals, which helped spread the blaze

The Hindu

3/9/19

Oudalle, lube plant fuel Seine-Mar, France

Fire broke out in filtration room of Lubrizol plant near Le Havre; emergency procedures were triggered; major response by fire crews; fire quickly brought under control, with no reports of casualties

Actu.fr

chemical chlorine plant

chemical plant

chemical plant

petroleum products

mercuric chloride

sodium hydroxide

chemical gas cylinders plant

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SECOND CITY SIGHTS CONFERFENCE REPORT • NOW IN ITS 15TH YEAR, LABELMASTER’S DANGEROUS GOODS SYMPOSIUM HAS BECOME A MUST-ATTEND EVENT FOR ALL INVOLVED IN THE HAZMAT BUSINESS LABELMASTER’S 2019 DANGEROUS Goods Symposium drew a big crowd to Chicago this past 4 to 6 September, with a varied programme of presentations and networking events. It was a welcome return to the downtown area, with its many attractions and

ever-changing regulations and the many other challenges they face. “We have brought together the most prominent industry thought leaders, regulators and trainers to provide insights and practical advice that will help you navigate the DG issues you face most often,”

distractions, after last year’s trip out to the airport, and the hundreds of attendees were certainly well fed and watered.

Labelmaster’s aim is, through its competitively priced event, to help its customers and other players in the dangerous goods (DG) supply chain to keep up with

said Alan Schoen, president of Labelmaster, in his introduction.

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

WHAT THE PROS SAY The first matter to be dealt with, as it has in recent years, was the annual Global DG Confidence Outlook Survey, undertaken by

Labelmaster with the help of HCB and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the fourth year running. The survey looks at how DG professionals see their role in their organisation and among their supply chain partners and each year has highlighted some of the most intractable problems they face.

A relatively brief report on the results of the survey was given by Rob Finn (left), vice-president of Labelmaster, HCB’s editorin-chief Peter Mackay, and Nick Carlone, assistant director of cargo publications at IATA. That presentation was summarised in an earlier article (HCB October 2019, page 110) but there are some salient points that deserve highlighting.

Firstly, it is generally accepted by DG professionals that responded to the survey that the supply chain has a positive commercial impact on their company. On the other hand, only 20 per cent said they were confident of their capabilities to handle the growing sector of reverse logistics, which is being fed by the rise in e-commerce.

The survey had also defined what Rob Finn described as three ‘tribes’ within the DG community: those who are confident of their ability to handle future demands; those who are up to speed at the moment but wary of the future; and those who cannot even cope right now. One of the defining features of this situation is the level of use of digital and other IT systems: those who are most confident tend to be those with the most IT at their disposal. Interestingly, the survey showed that use of IT is lower among North American DG professionals than those in other parts of the world; it is not clear why this should be but it is one topic that will be interrogated in more detail in the 2020 survey.

Labelmaster has made the full survey results freely available on its website, and the document is well worth a read. It can be found at www.labelmaster.com/dgconfidence-outlook/.

GOOD BUSINESS An interesting take on DG compliance came later in the Symposium from Frank McGuigan, CEO of Transplace. “Managing DG transport takes a lot of information and

SAFETY 51

involves numerous rules and agencies,” he remarked, pointing out that around 20 per cent of all road freight in the US is dangerous goods. “It’s good business to ensure safety in DG transport,” he said.

McGuigan praised the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Responsible Care programme which, he said, has helped to improve the image of those companies that use it. He then turned to the hot topic of digitisation.

Track-and-trace has been around in various forms since the mid-1990s, initially to monitor hours of service and to locate goods during transport. However, McGuigan said, it can now do a lot more. “The more visibility you have, the more opportunity there is to improve efficiency and compliance,” he said.

This is where Transplace comes in. It is now applying MacroPoint in its systems and is also looking at Blockchain technology which, McGuigan said, is showing a lot of early promise. For DG shippers, access to the appropriate standard of transport

 REPUTABLE SHIPPERS ARE GENERALLY NOT A PROBLEM BUT THE INCREASING USE OF ONLINE SALES MEANS THAT THERE IS A GROWING THREAT FROM INDIVIDUALS CONSIGNING A ‘BOMB IN A BOX’ BY MAIL

capacity helps them meet their service requirements and their service promises to their customers. IT systems such as those used by Transplace can automate the carrier selection process so that invitations to tender are submitted to the right carriers; closing the feedback loop, these systems can also monitor service levels.

In general, such an approach avoids and plans for disruptions in the supply chain through the use of predictive analytics and taking into account factors such as the weather and road congestion. This leads to optimisation of the transport function.

RULES TO COME After a lengthy but inspirational speech from David Ritchie, corporate safety director at Great Dane Trailers, who explained how the company had improved its safety performance by 74 per cent in just three years by embedding safety as a core principle, the conference sessions moved on to three presentations that provided an update on North American DG transport(ation) regulations.

Matt Nickels, senior regulations officer at the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), had more to say than might have been expected, given the relatively low number of regulatory rulemakings emanating from the

Administration since the arrival of President Trump in the White House.

Nickels explained that 99.99 per cent of all hazmat gets to its destination in good condition and without causing an incident; PHMSA’s target is to get that figure up to 100 per cent. In its 2018-2022 strategic plan, the US Department for Transporation’s (DOT) aims are: • Ensuring safety in transport (always the number one issue) • Improving the national transport infrastructure • Promoting innovation (especially in the area of autonomous vehicles), and • Accountability (to Congress and to the US public).

On a day-to-day level, though, PHMSA is currently working under a mandate for regulatory reform – at least 80 per cent of its rulemakings are currently seen as being deregulatory – and is taking a systematic approach. Notably, this has resulted in hundreds of existing special provisions being rolled into the Hazardous Materials Regulations. PHMSA is also experiencing a lot of requests for interpretation, especially in the area of lithium batteries, Nickels said.

Nickels also listed the current and planned rulemaking activities of PHMSA. Of particular interest was that the biennial international harmonisation rule, HM-215O, which was due out at the end of 2018 to keep the US in step with the modal rulebooks that took effect from the start of 2019, was now expected “in the fall”. As this issue of HCB went to press, that final rule had not yet appeared. He also mentioned that the team drawing up the next version, HM-215P, has already started work.

SOME OLD FRIENDS As the issue of reverse logistics had already been mentioned, it was gratifying to be able to hear from Vinnie Desiderio, hazardous materials program specialist with the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), who spoke about hazmat threats in the mail. The ‘bomb in a box’ scenario is very rare but a massive threat, and something that USPIS keeps a close eye on. But there are much more mundane threats: drugs in the mail

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can cause problems and are fairly common, while DG is frequently shipped and perfectly legal but again can present difficulties when it is mis- or undeclared.

“Individuals are the most dangerous people,” Desiderio said. There have been a lot more corrosives found in domestic mail; these are prohibited substances such as hydrochloric acid and mercury. They are generally coming from online sellers to hobbyists (such as people making their own soap) or drug makers, or just to people setting up a little business in their basement.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the biggest issue for USPIS is lithium batteries; this is getting worse, though – some such batteries are now so big they are getting into the realms of potentially being that ‘bomb in a box’ that so worries Desiderio.

Talk then moved on to developments in Canada, with a presentation from an old hand at these events, Dave Evans, formerly

with Purolator and now representing the Air Transport Association of Canada.

Again, Evans had quite a lengthy list of rulemaking activity to report on, with both Transport Canada and the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) working on various parts of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Regulations.

Of particular interest, especially to the trainers in the room, was news that CGSB has created a committee to look at the development of competency-based training standards. This is involving a broad-based group of government agencies, industry, trainers and other interested organisations.

A draft of the standard has already been drawn up and is available online for public comments.

Transport Canada, like its counterparts elsewhere in the world, is also looking at the use of electronic documentation in the DG supply chain and has formed a ‘sandbox’ that will run to 2022 to evaluate the feasibility

of e-documentation through the use of volunteer companies. The aim is to create a paperless environment that will play a part in improving compliance and enhancing efficiency in the supply chain.

GET LIVELY There was a whole lot more to see and hear during the three days of the Labelmaster DG Symposium, including an entire morning devoted to lithium batteries. For example, Geoff Leach and Ross McLachlan from The Dangerous Goods Office (pictured) talked about training in the air mode and, while noting that ‘training’ is not the same as ‘competence’, felt that the introduction of competency-based training does not really change things very much. Nonetheless, in a lively and interactive workshop they illustrated some of the pitfalls in traditional teaching methods.

Also causing a stir was a workshop led

by Nick Carlone and Kim Wee from IATA, showing off the new RampVR virtual reality training system for ground operations, and another immersive experience from Labelmaster’s Rhonda Jessop, who showed some prototype training aids using online and 3D virtual reality systems. As ever, Mike Hoysler from FedEx challenged the trainers in the audience with a selection of photos showing the mistakes he finds in packages – if people can’t pack and label these correctly, he argued, it’s down to poor training. Hoysler also moderated a panel session looking at the importance or otherwise of the safety data sheet in the acceptance of dangerous goods in the air mode, something that, as illustrated elsewhere in this issue, is also bothering intermodal carriers.

This article has just scratched the surface of all the information and insights that were provided in Chicago this September.

Those who want to see the whole thing are invited to attend the 2020 Labelmaster DG Symposium which will take place once more in downtown Chicago on 9 to 11 September.

Full details will be available soon at www.labelmaster.com/symposium.

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

SAFETY 53

Open Form (LOF) was agreed with the owners of the vessel, with a Special Compensation P&I Club (Scopic) clause invoked.

Salvors engaged a team of 26 personnel, including two salvage masters, an IMDG specialist, a hazmat specialist, an explosives expert, 10 riggers and foremen, eight in a hazmat team and two industrial firefighters.

Specialised personal protective equipment and explosion-proof tools were ordered and mobilised to Egypt, as well as special made-to-order antistatic bags for repacking of the spilled cargo or damaged cargo bags.

Over the course of the following weeks, salvors created a suitable environment onboard and ashore next to the casualty that allowed them to handle, re-pack and re-stow all affected cargo successfully and the vessel was ready to resume its voyage.

BENEFIT OF TEAMWORK FOS prepared a detailed risk assessment for the intended operation – taking into account the fact that the blast radius in the event of something going wrong was calculated to be in excess of 9 km.

This article is an edited version of a report carried in the October 2019 edition of the International Salvage Union’s (ISU) newsletter, Salvage World, and is reproduced by permission of ISU and FOS, which also supplied the photograph.

IN PERIL SALVAGE • A RECENT INCIDENT SHOWS THE PROBLEMS THAT CAN BE CAUSED BY IMPROPER SECUREMENT OF DANGEROUS GOODS, AND THE EXTENT OF THE NECESSARY RESPONSE DURING A PASSAGE from the Far East to Europe this past June, the general cargo vessel Bow Diamond (7,500 dwt, 2001) encountered very heavy weather while in the Gulf of Aden. This caused 29 containers in a cargo hold to break loose from their lashings.

Among those containers were a number loaded with UN 1.1D explosives – TNT (trinitrotoluene) and RDX (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine). Part of the contents spilled from the damaged containers into the hold, creating a very dangerous situation for the vessel and its crew. The quantity of cargo involved has been put at 373 tonnes.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the vessel found difficulty in finding refuge but it was eventually given shelter at a naval base in Egypt.

Underwriters decided to deal themselves with what was initially seen as a cargo clean-up operation and engaged a team of experts to deal with it. Five Ocean Salvage (FOS) was contracted on commercial terms to handle the maritime aspects of the operation.

The plan was to sweep, clean and neutralise the cargo hold where the explosives had spilled. All broken packages were to be collected and re-packed, and stuffed into new containers in accordance with the requirements of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code. However, this operation was too complex to be done on commercial terms and all efforts reached a standstill after 10 days. At that point a Lloyds

 IT TOOK WEEKS FOR THE TEAM TO RETRIEVE THE SPILLED EXPLOSIVES AND REPACK THE CONTAINERS

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HELD TO ACCOUNT

pushing large corporations to pay attention to the environmental performance of their suppliers.

CHINA • MULTINATIONAL CHEMICAL COMPANIES SHOULD TAKE MORE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS IN CHINA, SAYS A HARD-HITTING REPORT ON A FATAL EXPLOSION On 21 March 2019, a major explosion occurred at the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical (JTC) plant in the Xiangshui Chemical Industrial Park, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, China.

The blast, which was powerful enough to register on seismic monitoring systems, caused 78 deaths and injured more than 600 people. Authorities in the Yancheng Municipal Government have since closed all operations at the Xiangshui Chemical Industrial Park to look more closely at other hazards.

The incident, which was not widely reported

European and North American chemical companies were still doing business with JTC, despite repeated alarms over poor environmental and safety standards at the plant.

“Records indicate that at least four of the world’s global chemical giants – DuPont, Merck, BASF and Clariant – may count JTC in their supply chain. Yet these companies have kept their heads down about the urgent need to put their own shoulders to the wheel and join government and stakeholder efforts to

MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS Publicly available inspection records clearly suggest that JTC was an accident waiting to happen, IPE says. The factory had multiple serious safety and environmental violations on record – 13 types of safety hazards were documented in February 2018 by the former State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), now the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM), including the lack of an emergency shut-off valve near the bottom of the benzene tanks that have been identified as the root of the March explosion. Environmentally, the factory was similarly operating well outside the law, with egregious infractions such as building a hidden pipeline to discharge pollutants into nearby waterways and evading supervision of its air emissions.

at the time, has drawn criticism from environmental groups in China, angry that

prevent similar incidents from happening again,” says a report on the incident published by the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Beijing-based group that is part of the ‘Green Choice Alliance’, a group of Chinese non-governmental organisations that promotes a global green supply chain by

It also appears that the situation at JTC is far from unique; many other chemical factories located in the Xiangshui Chemical Industrial Park where JTC operated and in adjacent industrial parks also have extensive documented environmental violations. Adding insult to injury, a nearby factory in Zhejiang

 THE JTC EXPLOSION WAS ONLY ONE OF SEVERAL CHEMICAL PLANT INCIDENTS IN CHINA THIS YEAR

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

SAFETY 55

province, which benefited from the reduced competition in chemicals production following the closure of JTC, itself has a record of environmental violations and has just been listed as posing critical safety hazards.

In response to the JTC explosion, government agencies have been rolling out major corrective actions, IPE notes. Officials in Jiangsu have announced draft plans to significantly reduce the number of chemical enterprises in the province. Thousands of enterprises will be re-evaluated and those not up to standards will be shut down. Other provinces such as Shandong and Zhejiang are following suit, based on lessons drawn from the JTC incident, and have launched safety inspections to phase out potential hazards and pollution from chemical manufacturing operations.

GETTING TOUGH While Chinese state and provincial authorities have been taking an increasingly strict approach to the management of chemicals and the chemical industry, IPE believes that multinational companies are well placed to make a big difference to standards in China. IPE says that they can introduce sourcing policies that require their procurement departments to buy only from factories that comply with local safety and environmental laws and by rewarding factories that go beyond compliance with additional business.

“If, instead, corporate buyers look only at price, and violators remain eligible for business, these companies sustain a powerful engine for continued irresponsible operations around the world. Their

procurement policies serve as a damaging drag and counterforce to stakeholder efforts to achieve safer and more environmentally responsible manufacturing, particularly in China,” IPE says.

It should be noted that the four international chemical companies implicated in the IPE report have all denied any direct commercial relationship with JTC; however, at least two have indicated that JTC may have been an indirect supplier. Given the complexity of the international chemical supply chain, it is indeed possible that other non-Chinese chemical companies may have been purchasing JTC product and may well still be sourwcing material from other manufacturers in China that have similarly lax approaches to safety and environmental protection.

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AWAKE AT THE WHEEL

THE UN ECONOMIC Commission for Europe’s (UN ECE) Working Party on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (WP15) held its 106th session in Geneva this past 13 to 17 May. The main aim of the meeting was to review the decisions made by the earlier Joint Meeting of Experts on RID/ADR/ADN and to approve them for inclusion in the

by road throughout Europe and, increasingly, elsewhere in the world. There were also some road-specific proposals to be dealt with.

The meeting was chaired by Ariane Roumier (France), with Alfonso Simoni (Italy) sitting as vice-chair. It was attended by representatives from 25 voting nations and,

The meeting was preceded by a short Conference of the Contracting Parties to ADR, which adopted by consensus a proposal from Portugal to delete the word ‘European’ from the title of the ADR Agreement. This change has been in the offing for some years and the gradual expansion of the usage of ADR as a model for the regulations for the transport of dangerous goods has meant the change is long overdue. A protocol of amendment was to be transmitted to all contracting parties and, if no objection is raised within six months, the amendment will be accepted and enter into force on 1 January 2021.

There had been no new contracting parties since the previous session, although the Working Party welcomed the accession of Tunisia to the protocol amending articles

next, 2021 edition of ADR, the regulations governing the transport of dangerous goods

as provided for by the terms of reference, representatives from Nigeria, Morocco and Tunisia, acting as full members. Also in attendance were representatives from the EU, the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) and three non-governmental organisations.

1 (a), 14 (1) and 14 (3) (b) of ADR and encouraged the 14 countries that had not yet deposited the required legal instruments for the Protocol to enter into force to take the necessary steps to do so.

The representative of Nigeria reported that, since the country’s accession to ADR and five

ROAD • WP15’S MAY SESSION CONFIRMED THE DECISIONS MADE BY THE JOINT MEETING BUT HAD A WHOLE LOT MORE ON ITS PLATE, WITH A NUMBER OF AMENDMENTS ADOPTED

 WP15 HAS A STRICT FOCUS ON THE TRANSPORT OF ALL SORTS OF DANGEROUS GOODS BY ROAD

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

REGULATIONS 57

other UN agreements and conventions on road safety, a national seminar had been held in March 2019 under the auspices of the Special Envoy for Road Safety. Emphasising the importance that Nigeria is placing on ADR, the seminar discussed the provisions of those agreements and conventions and outlined effective ways to implement them.

PROPOSALS FOR AMENDMENT In an informal document, Sweden sought

may submit an official proposal at the next session.

Switzerland sought clarification of 9.1.3.4 concerning the certificate of approval for vehicles, following on from an informal document presented at the previous session. That paragraph states: “The next approval term shall, however, be related to the last nominal expiry date, if the technical inspection is performed within one month before or after that date.” This seems to conflict with the provisions in 9.1.2.3.

Switzerland noted that 9.1.3.4 was introduced in 1997 (as a replacement for marginal 10 282 (4)) and that at the time the text was clearer.

Most of the delegations that spoke wished to maintain the possibility of performing the technical inspection within one month before or after the expiry date of the certificate of approval, which is useful in cases where the technical inspection of the vehicle and the ADR inspection are carried out by different authorities. Several, however, felt that if the inspection is carried out in the month following the expiry of the certificate of approval, the vehicle should not be used to transport dangerous goods in the meantime. In the end, it was decided to adopt an amended change, by adding a new paragraph after the first paragraph of 9.1.3.4: The vehicle shall not be used for the carriage of dangerous goods after the nominal expiry date until the vehicle has a valid certificate of approval.

The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) raised the question of whether temperature monitoring should be required in the driver’s cab during temperaturecontrolled transport in refrigerated containers. At present, Chapter 9.6 applies

opinions as to whether it would be appropriate to introduce the same braking requirements for EX/II trailers of categories O¹ and O² as apply to EX/III vehicles under paragraph 2.4 of Annex 5 of UN Regulation No 13. Several delegations asked for more time to study the issue; meanwhile Sweden

only to completely insulated refrigerated vehicles, whereas 7.1.7.4.7 appears to indicate that it applies also to refrigerated containers. It seemed to the Working Party that, even if 9.6.1 were to be amended, further changes would be needed in 7.1.7.

Cefic and the Netherlands agreed to work

JOINT MEETING DECISIONS The Working Party reviewed and approved the amendments adopted by the Joint Meeting at its spring 2019 session (HCB October 2019, page 112; and page 62 of this issue).

The UK returned to special provision 671, on the assignment of a transport category to UN 3316 chemical and first aid kits for which no packing group is assigned, realising that the version adopted by the Joint Meeting needed correction. The Secretariat judged that this action did not meet the definition of ‘correction’ and would therefore need to be treated as an ‘amendment’. The UK was asked to initiate a multilateral special agreement to cover the issue, pending amendment of SP 671, if needed, at a future session. [This was initiated on 17 June as M321; to date it has been countersigned by five contracting parties.]

The EU representative confirmed to the Working Party that the mandate given by the European Commission (EC) to the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) in 1995 relating to the development of standards applicable to the transport of dangerous goods would be revoked. This may well cause problems in the future and is something that the Joint Meeting is addressing.

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on a revised proposal, though work at other working parties such as the ADN Safety Committee would need to be taken into account.

MISCELLANEOUS PROPOSALS Switzerland sought amendment of 5.4.1.1.1(k), which requires the tunnel code to be indicated on the transport document. At present, where no tunnel code is assigned to a substance, as indicated by a dash ‘(—)’ in column (15) of Table A of Chapter 3.2, no mention is required in the transport document. Switzerland felt it would avoid confusion if the dash should be entered on the document, noting that there are a number of UN entries that are not assigned a tunnel code but that nevertheless require an

HCB MONTHLY | NOVEMBER 2019

orange-coloured plate on the carrying vehicle.

The Working Party agreed that this would be helpful and adopted changes in the first and second sentences of 5.4.1.1.1(k) to add “or the mention ‘(—)’”.

On a similar topic, Switzerland submitted a proposal to amend special provision 363(I), which in the second indent says that “When the carriage is known beforehand to pass through a tunnel with restrictions for carriage of dangerous goods, the transport unit shall display orange-coloured plates…”.

Switzerland took this to mean that the need to respect the tunnel provisions only applies when it is known beforehand that a consignment will pass through a tunnel to which restrictions apply.

Again, the Working Party agreed with Switerland’s reasoning and adopted the proposed text, so that the second indent of SP 363(I) will read: - The transport unit shall display orangecoloured plates according to 5.3.2 and the tunnel restrictions according to 8.6.4 apply.

The orange-coloured plates according to 5.3.2 are not necessary where the carriage is known beforehand not to pass through a tunnel with restrictions for carriage of dangerous goods.

Switzerland also proposed a change to clarify whether, for a transport unit containing both goods for which a tunnel code is assigned in Table A and goods for which ‘(—)’ is indicated instead of a tunnel restriction code, only the goods having a

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tunnel code should be considered for the prohibition of passage. Clarification would involve another change to 5.4.1.1.1(k) and a Note to the Table in 8.6.4.

There was some support for the idea but it was generally felt that it would be most appropriate to make the change in the section on the application of tunnel restrictions in Chapter 8.6. Switzerland was invited to review its proposal in light of the comments made.

Another proposal from Switzerland revolved around the transport by post of Class 7 excepted packages with limited activity, to align with provisions adopted by the Universal Postal Union (UPU). This proposal did not gain much support; in addition, it was noted that Switzerland had submitted a similar proposal to the UN Sub-committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (TDG) and it would be best to await the outcome of debate at the Sub-committee before making any changes specific to ADR. Yet another paper from Switzerland offered the idea of requiring containers loaded both with fully regulated and limited quantity dangerous goods to be placarded with the limited quantity mark in addition to any other required hazard warning placards. The Working Party felt this was an issue for multimodal discussion, as it would certainly have a bearing on RID and ADN, while it was also noted that there would be implications for consignments including a sea voyage.

Switzerland and Sweden were invited to put the matter first to the Joint Meeting.

A joint paper from Finland and Sweden revisited the issue of the use of more than one trailer in a transport unit. The main problem facing the proposal is that any provision to allow such vehicles for the carriage of dangerous goods would not be compatible with a number of EU directives on vehicle dimensions and weights. In addition, the

mind other related agreements, conventions and directives. Finland and Sweden promised to consider the comments made but may submit a revised proposal.

Germany returned to the issue of the new footnote to 6.8.2.1.18, which had been agreed but put in square brackets pending revision of standard EN 13094. The note specifically addresses permissible variations in the cross-section of tank shells.

Germany’s point was that ADR must be the basis for modifications to standards, not vice versa.

The footnote had been adopted at the 104th session with the intention that it would enter into force on 1 January 2021 but was placed in square brackets to draw attention to the need for detailed stipulations as to how local variations should be understood to guarantee safe construction. The UK confirmed that work was underway to amend EN 13094 along the same lines and that this would be discussed at the autumn Joint Meeting.

The Working Party agreed to hold fire on a final decision, although the Secretariat noted that any change to the standard would have to be published by 1 June 2020 if it were to be considered in the list of amendments to take effect in 2021.

The UK proposed inclusion of a definition for ‘normal cubic metre’ so as to facilitate the correct interpretation of the exemptions related to the carriage of gases. The idea found support but there was disagreement about where the definition should go, as the term is only used in 1.1.3.2. In the end, it was decided to include it as a note ‘a’ in Note 1 to the table in 1.1.3.2 and will read: 1 Nm³ refers to a normal cubic metre: the amount of a gas occupying 1 m³ under temperature and pressure conditions of 0 °C and 1.01325 bar (0.101325 MPa).

Switzerland had not yet finished, and put forward an official document to support an

definition of ‘transport unit’ in 1.2.1 of ADR would have to be amended, again bearing in

informal document it provided late to the previous session. This described a real scenario in which a tank vehicle with three compartments, which had carried UN 1203 gasoline in one, was re-loaded with biodiesel after discharge. Bottom filling pushed gasoline vapour to the top of the compartment. The

 THE NEED TO ADDRESS THE CARRIAGE OF DANGEROUS GOODS IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES IS GETTING URGENT

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driver kept the tank markings specific to gasoline but was fined by police on the basis that he had not removed the ADR marking.

This case raised some issues. Firstly, is this procedure – i.e. not draining the piping or cleaning the tank between different loads – good practice and, if not, should it be specifically prohibited in ADR? Alternatively, given that the residual product in such cases can easily exceed 100 litres, should the practice be addressed in ADR in a similar way to that taken for additives in tank vehicles, as laid down in special provision 644?

After some discussion it was decided to refer the matter to the Joint Meeting; meanwhile, delegations were invited to consult with industry bodies to ascertain how they address such issues in practice.

Sweden returned to its worries about the supervision of vehicles and the clarity of the provisions in Chapter 8.5, where the additional requirements in S1(6), S16 and S21 state that a vehicle shall be “supervised at all times”.

Having circulated a questionnaire to other contracting states, Sweden believed it difficult to define what is actually meant by ‘supervision’ but felt that matters could be helped by inserting a reference to the sercurity provisions in 1.10.3 into those ‘S’ paragraphs.

Several delegations supported the concept; however, the Working Party as a whole felt that more time was needed given the differences in scope between the requirements in 1.10.3 and

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in S1(6), S16 and S21; furthermore, the UN TDG Sub-committee is currently working on the list of high-consequence dangerous goods, which could have an influence.

On a related theme, Cefic proposed that competent authorities should provide the UN ECE Secretariat with details of the security features in the certificates they issue, to help other contracting parties. This suggestion was welcomed and Cefic was asked to work up a formal proposal.

In an informal document, Belarus proposed amending 1.1.3.3 to allow more scope for the size of fuel tanks, which is currently limited to 1,500 litres per transport unit. It felt that the need to carry fuel for refrigerated trailers, for example, means that such a limit becomes an obstacle to efficient transport. It proposed that the 1,500-litre limit should exclude fuel for trailers and any fuel carried in containers.

The Working Party recalled that Spain had made a similar proposal in 1992 and overall it was felt that there were no pressing arguments to reopen the matter. Some, though, made the point that there had recently been changes in the mass limits for gases and machinery. The representative of Belarus took note of the comments made and said that he would present an official document at the next session.

Luxembourg raised a question about the exemptions provided by 1.1.3.1 and particularly in sub-paragraph (c). Roadside inspections

frequently identify unsuitable packaging being used for dangerous goods carried under this exemption; furthermore, it seems difficult for an individual who has not been trained in ADR to interpret the regulations.

Many of those in the Working Party agreed that the text of 1.1.3.1 should be clarified, although this issue should be addressed to the Joint Meeting. Luxembourg will follow up.

INTERPRETATION OF ADR The Netherlands sought opinion on the meaning of the requirements for thermal insulation in 7.1.7.4.5, following its work to align the UN Model Regulations with ADR. Its question now was this: does the requirement for thermal insulation apply to the individual packages or to the transport unit? The opinion of the Working Party was that the methods listed in that paragraph for preventing the control temperature from being exceeded involve thermal insulation of vehicles and containers and not of packages.

France was trying to untangle the various definitions and uses of ‘transport unit’ in 1.1.3.6, Chapter 8.1 and 1.2.1. It had concluded that, even if 8.1.1 does not apply to a carriage performed according to 1.1.3.6, the definition of a transport unit does not allow the use of a unit comprising a dolly-axle. The response from the Working Party was that, indeed, combinations of vehicles to which a dolly and a semi-trailer are attached do not correspond to the definition

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of ‘transport unit’ in ADR. Therefore, ADR does not allow the use of a dolly, even for carriage according to 1.1.3.6.

Latvia sparked discussion of the certificate of approval for vehicles carrying certain goods, as specified in 9.1.3.5. Latvia does not include section 13, which provides for an extension to the certificate, since in such cases it merely issues a new certificate. This did not meet with the approval of the Working Party, which asked Latvia to incorporate the section as soon as possible.

France noted that 8.6.3.1 states that those

column (15) of the Dangerous Goods List “are not subject to any tunnel restriction”. However, competent authorities may impose restrictions on goods of UN 2919 and 3331 under a special arrangement in line with 1.7.4.2. France wondered if competent authorities could apply this approach to other goods. The answer from the Working Party was fairly simple: “no”.

dangerous goods that are indicated by ‘(—)’ in

report of the work of the informal working group for the clarification of 9.3.4.2, which covers the construction requirements for the body of EX/III vehicles. The Netherlands promised to present the progress of work on the use of electric and hybrid electric vehicles in the context of the transport of dangerous goods.

 TRANSPORT PRACTICES DO NOT ALWAYS ALIGN NEATLY WITH THE REGULATORY PROVISIONS AND WP15 HAD TO ADDRESS SOME TECHNICAL QUESTIONS ON SUCH TOPICS

FUTURE WORK The 107th session of WP15 was scheduled to take place from 11 to 15 November 2019. The Working Party asked Germany to present a

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ON SECOND THOUGHTS MULTIMODAL • THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOME RECENT CHANGES TO ADR AND RID HAS RAISED THE NEED FOR SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS TO MAKE THEM EASIER TO APPLY THE SPRING 2019 Joint Meeting of the RID Committee of Experts and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Working Party on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (WP15) took place in Bern, Switzerland this past 18 to 22 March. The aim of the meeting was to continue work on the development of amendments that will appear in the 2021 editions of the regulations governing the transport of dangerous goods by rail (RID), road (ADR) and inland waterway (ADN) in Europe and in those

for Railways (ERA), the Organisation for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD) and 11 non-governmental organisations.

The first part of this report into the session in last month’s HCB covered those papers that were referred to the working groups on tanks and standards, as well as some ongoing issues. This second part covers the remaining proposals for amendment and reports from informal working groups.

other countries that have adopted or observe those regulations.

The meeting was chaired by Claude Pfauvadel (France) with Silvia Garcia Wolfrum (Spain) as vice-chair. It was attended by representatives of 21 full member countries, the European Commission (EC), the EU Agency

NEW PROPOSALS Germany proposed an additional special provision to deal with the carriage of polymerising substances as waste. The existing provisions for polymerising substances require the shipper to determine the self-accelerating polymerisation

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temperature (SAPT) and to take the necessary steps to prevent spontaneous polymerisation through the use of inhibitors or stabilisation by means of temperature control. This is not practical when such substances enter the waste stream.

Having discussed the matter with the waste disposal sector and having brought it to the attention of the UN Sub-committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (TDG), Germany now proposed a parallel special provision to state that, for polymerising substances being transported for disposal or recycling, the measures in 7.1.7.3, 7.1.7.4 and 5.4.1.2.3.1 and in special provision 386 need not be complied with, providing that “suitable measures are taken to prevent dangerous polymerisation”.

Germany also noted that an informal working group led by the European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD) had been charged with looking into the carriage of dangerous wastes and would be examining the issue.

The plenary agreed that this would be an appropriate step, noting that the working group was due to meet in early April.

Switzerland followed up on earlier discussions by WP15 and the RID Committee of Experts on its proposal to amend the

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wording of additional provisions CV36/CW36 to ensure the efficient venting of vehicles when carrying gases. Switzerland had also spoken to the European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA) and Liquid Gas Europe, which confirmed that its proposals were in line with guidance they provide to their members. Switzerland also noted that, in the 2017 texts of ADR and RID, provisions were introduced to prevent the risk of asphyxiation of drivers; it seemed sensible to have a similar requirement in CV36/CW36.

Bearing this in mind, the Joint Meeting agreed, and amended the second sentence of CV36 to read: If this is not feasible and packages are carried in other closed vehicles or containers, gas exchange between the load compartment and the driver’s cab shall be prevented and the cargo doors of the vehicles or containers shall be marked with the following in letters not less than 25 mm high: The same change is made to CW36, except that it refers to ‘closed wagons’ rather than ‘closed vehicles’.

Similarly, Switzerland proposed a change to special provision 653, which provides for the carriage of four asphyxiant gases in cylinders under specified conditions. This had been put forward to the UN TDG Sub-committee for inclusion in the Model Regulations, where discussions had revealed concerns about its limited coverage. In particular, while SP 653 refers to “provisions for construction and testing” of gas cylinders, it was felt that this should be extended to include the filling of the cylinders. Switzerland also reported on an incident, in which a gas cylinder that was constructed and tested in accordance with the requirements had nonetheless been improperly filled with carbon dioxide, resulting in a leak during transport that sent four passengers in a vehicle unconscious.

from Switzerland had merit and made the simple change to the first indent of SP 653 so that it will read “for construction, testing and filling”.

Spain reported that industry was finding the wording of 4.1.1.3 confusing; the last sentence reads: “The packagings for which the test is not required are mentioned under 6.1.1.3.” However, 4.1.1.3 relates to the design type test, while 6.1.1.3 refers specifically to the leakproofness test. Spain noted that other transport regulations do not have that sentence and its paper suggested that it may have referred to another provision that has subsequently been changed.

The Joint Meeting agreed with Spain’s argument and deleted that sentence.

The UK had identified that the new special provision 671, which applies to UN 3316 chemical kits and first aid kits, does not provide for the assignment of a transport category to those kits that contain only dangerous goods to which no packing group is assigned. This makes it impossible to complete the transport document. The UK proposed an amendment to SP 671, which the Joint Meeting found acceptable. A new paragraph is added at the end of SP 671, that for ADR reading:

Kits containing only dangerous goods to which no packing group is assigned shall be allocated to transport category 2 for completion of transport documents and the exemption related to quantities carried per transport unit (see 1.1.3.6).

The same special provision in RID refers at the end to “quantities carried per wagon or large container”. The Joint Meeting noted that the change is also applicable to ADN. Romania continued with its campaign to rationalise the use of the terms ‘hazard’ and ‘risk’ throughout the transport regulations, putting forward a lengthy list of proposed changes together with a transitional provision to allow the use of instructions in writing prepared in accordance with the rules in effect up to the end of 2020 to be used until 30 June 2023.

The paper led to discussion of the need to maintain consistency with the UN Model Regulations and GHS but it was agreed that these terms should be investigated and, wherever possible, replaced. An informal working group will continue to assess the need for amendments.

The Secretariat noted an anomaly in the references to EN 12972 in 6.8.2.6.1 and 1.8.7.8.

The Joint Meeting agreed these should be aligned and changed the reference in the table

The Joint Meeting agreed that the proposal

 THE JOINT MEETING DEALT WITH A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS RELATING TO THE TESTING AND USE OF GAS CYLINDERS AND OTHER PRESSURE VESSELS

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in 1.8.7.8 to refer to the 2018 edition rather than EN 12972:2007.

In an informal document, Germany referred to Section 7.1.7, which appeared in ADR and ADN in the 2019 edition and which lays out the obligations regarding the technical maintenance of cargo transport units under temperature control and brings together possible emergency procedures that had previously appeared elsewhere in the regulations. Germany’s quibble was that this does not assign those obligations to particular interests. The matter had been discussed by the ADN Safety Committee at its meeting in January, where a provisional assignment of obligations to the loader, consignor and carrier was made, based on Chapter 1.4 of ADN. Its paper suggested that similar assignment of obligations should be made in ADR. There was some support for the proposal, though one delegate felt that it would be more appropriate to have less mode-specific references so as to facilitate implementation.

Germany will work with industry and other stakeholders to revise the proposal.

An informal document from the Netherlands addressed the requirement in 5.4.2 of RID/ADR/ ADN for a container/vehicle packing certificate to be completed. This is a requirement under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods

(IMDG) Code but, it contended, it seems unnecessary when no sea voyage is anticipated.

The Netherlands was keen to hear the opinions of others. The Joint Meeting concurred with the Netherlands and invited it to prepare a formal proposal to delete the requirement.

The Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) reported that it had received a number of enquiries concerning the interpretation of special provision 389, including in the context of ADR. SP 389 was included in RID/ADR/ADN to harmonise with the 20th revised edition of the UN Model Regulations and applies only to UN 3536 lithium batteries installed in cargo transport units. The UN Model Regulations require such cargo transport units to display the UN number and be placarded on two opposing sides; in RID/ADR/ADN they are required to bear orange-coloured plates and placards on two opposing sides. This has raised some uncertainty and it was thought that some more specific provisions in RID and ADR would help matters.

After an exchange of views, and noting that carriage of articles under UN 3536 often involves a maritime leg followed by and/or preceded by land carriage, the Joint Meeting felt that the issue should be brought to the UN TDG Sub-committee; the OTIF Secretariat was

invited to submit an official document.

Switzerland sought amendment of 3.4.1.1 to provide some clarification on the classification of articles according to the new UN entries 3537 to 3548. According to 2.1.5.1 it is possible to classify these articles either under the proper shipping name of the dangerous goods they contain or in accordance with section 2.1.5, with 2.1.5.3 specifying that 2.1.5 does not apply to articles for which a more specific shipping name already exists. The current Notes to 2.1.5 and special provision 301 do not, Switzerland argued, provide any clarity.

The Joint Meeting agreed with the Swiss paper. It was decided to delete the Note to SP 301 and amend the Note under 2.1.5 to read: Articles which do not have a proper shipping name and which contain only dangerous goods within the permitted limited quantity amounts specified in Column (7a) of Table A of Chapter 3.2, UN No. 3363 and special provisions 301 and 672 of Chapter 3.3 may be applied.

Similarly, Switzerland felt that the text of SP 667 contains an inconsistency. This was applied to the new entries for dangerous goods in articles, although it was not its original intention, being applied originally to UN Nos 3166, 3177, 3528, 3529 and 3530. Switzerland felt it would be clearer if machinery subject to special provisions 363 and 666 were to be distinguished from UN 3537 to 3548.

Following discussion and an informal paper drawn up by Germany and Switzerland, the Joint Meeting agreed to amend the scope of application of SP 667, by removing the reference to ‘article’ or ‘articles’.

INFORMAL WORKING GROUPS Spain reported on the progress being made by the informal working group on the reduction of the risk of a boiling liquid evaporating vapour explosion (BLEVE) during the transport of dangerous goods. The Joint Meeting took note of a presentation on the use of 3D aluminium alloys to protect tanks and receptacles filled with flammable liquids or gases from the risk of explosion. The

 SOME OF THE CHANGES ADOPTED ARE ALSO RELEVANT TO INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT

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developers of this technology were invited to share test results with the informal working group, which was due to meet again in Madrid in late October.

France reported on the work of the informal working group on telematics, which had reached a recommendation to convert the previously agreed Memorandum of Understanding into Guidelines for the use of 5.4.0.2 of RID/ADR/ADN so as to facilitate their implementation. Those Guidelines were to be made available via the websites of UN ECE and the OTIF Secretariat.

Further work is needed on other documents and it was also noted that the EU is continuing to develop a regulation on electronic freight transport information. It may well be that, once the EU’s work is done, any guidelines developed by the informal working group may need to be reviewed. It was hoped that the group could finalise its guidelines by the end of 2019.

EIGA updated the meeting on progress towards mutual recognition of European and US pressure receptacles. It reminded the Joint Meeting that, at its previous session, an informal meeting took place to review text developed to allow both the import into Europe and export from Europe of gases in pressure receptacles constructed in accordance with the standards laid down by the US Department of Transportation (DOT).

EIGA’s paper contained proposals for a new 1.1.4.7 to specify the conditions under which DOT pressure receptacles could be imported and exported; it also noted that EIGA is continuing to work with DOT and the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), its US counterpart, to progress its petition for rulemaking to amend the US Hazardous Materials Regulations so as to allow European cylinders to enter the US. EIGA also noted that the multilateral special agreement M299, which allowed for the import of US

cylinders, was due to expire on 1 June 2019; the UK had offered to draft a new agreement.

[This subsequently appeared in April and, in the form of M318, has currently been countersigned by nine ADR states.]

The Joint Meeting was informed that the first meeting of the informal working group on the improvement of the accident report led by France was due to take place in The Hague on 19 and 20 June, immediately following the fifth meeting of the Expert Users and Development Group (EUDG). The ERA representative indicated that the guides to facilitate the use of the harmonised technical framework for the Transport of Dangerous Goods for inland transport developed by the agency and the EC are available on ERA’s website. HCB The autumn 2019 Joint Meeting took place in Geneva this past 17 to 26 September; a report on that session will be included in HCB early in 2020.

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in Division 2.2 for sporting or home use to be placed in carry-on baggage as well as checked baggage.

A new paragraph 2.6.7.1.3 has been added, mandating that the excepted quantity mark must be applied on one face of the package.

NEW YEAR, NEW RULES AIR • A NEW VERSION OF THE IATA DANGEROUS GOODS REGULATIONS ENTERS INTO FORCE ON 1 JANUARY. SHIPPERS SHOULD TAKE NOTE OF SOME POSSIBLY HELPFUL CHANGES THE INTERNATIONAL AIR Transport Association (IATA) publishes a new edition of its Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) every year, rather than according to the UN’s biennial cycle. IATA says this allows it to address urgent safety issues and any amendments to state and operator variations.

The 61st edition of the DGR, which comes into effect on 1 January 2020, consolidates those amendments agreed by IATA’s Dangerous Goods Board (DGB) over the past year, along with addenda issued by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to the 2019-2020 edition of its Technical Instructions.

The main changes that appear in the 61st edition of the DGR are listed below; readers should be aware that this is not an exhaustive list and, in any case, they will need to purchase their own copy of the new DGR if they are to remain compliant.

SECTION 2 Current provisions in 2.3.2.2, 2.3.5.11 and 2.3.5.12 require compliance with a special provision referenced in those paragraphs.

To assist customer service personnel, the relevant text of the special provision has been brought into these paragraphs.

A revision to 2.3.5.1 now allows aerosols

SECTION 4 Some changes to the List of Dangerous Goods in 4.2 will affect many shippers.

Provisions for both UN 2389 Furan and UN 3449 Bromobenzyl cyanides, solid have been aligned with the ICAO text, allowing their carriage on both passenger and cargo only aircraft. In the case of UN 3449, the permitted net quantity per package on passenger aircraft is 5 kg in accordance with packing instruction 666.

Special provision A802 has been assigned to UN 1700 Tear gas candles, reinforcing the requirement that packagings must meet PG II performance standards.

The words “environmentally hazardous substance” are added to Column D against UN 3077 and 3082 to identify that packages must bear the environmentally hazardous substance mark in addition to the Class 9 label, The dagger symbol has been added against UN 3536 Lithium batteries installed in cargo transport unit, to identify that there is now a glossary entry in Appendix A that provides more information.

SECTION 5 A clarification to 5.0.2.11(c) states that only those dangerous goods permitted by PI 620 may be packed in the same outer packaging with UN 2814 or 2900.

A revision to 5.0.2.11(h) clarifies the exception from the calculation of the Q value where the dangerous goods have the same UN number, packing group and physical state, to include the same net quantity.

For clarity, the single packagings tables in the packing instructions have been reformatted to show the material and type of packaging and their permitted specification codes so as to identify exactly which composite packagings are permitted. There is a consequential amendment in 8.1.6.9.2.

PI650 has been revised to identify that the number of packages shown on the air waybill

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of the package. Where the marks are applied by means of a label, the label must not be folded or applied such that it appears on different faces of the package.

A sentence has been added to 7.2.4.5 to require that the ‘Keep Away From Heat’ mark is affixed on the same side of the package and close to the hazard label(s).

does not need to be added to the UN number and proper shipping name when these are the only packages in the consignment. The text that describes the allowance for small quantities of substances in Classes 3, 8 or 9 to be in the primary receptacle has been revised to clarify that these substances must be permitted to be shipped as excepted quantities, not that they must meet the requirements for excepted quantities.

In PI 960 and Y960, text has been added into the combination packagings table to clarify that the net quantity limits per inner packaging only apply where the inner packagings contain dangerous goods, and that the total net quantity of dangerous goods per kit must not exceed 1 litre or 1 kg.

In PI 968 and 970, the term “aggregate lithium content” has been applied to lithium metal batteries to align with the terminology in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria.

APPENDICES Appendix A now has definitions for ‘aggregate lithium content’ and ‘lithium batteries installed in cargo transport unit’.

The definition of ‘fissile material’ is changed to ‘fissile nuclides’.

There are the usual number of changes to the lists of competent authorities (Appendix D), UN specification packaging suppliers and package testing facilities (Appendix E), and sales agents, IATA-accredited training schools and IATA-authorised training centres (Appendix F).

The guidance material formerly provided in Appendix H on the development and implementation of competency-based training for dangerous goods has been extensively revised following engagement with and input from regulatory authorities, training providers and member airlines. This can now be found in Appendix I. This new Appendix I also contains other changes that are due to enter into force on 1 January 2021, based on the 21st revised edition of the UN Model Regulations and other

amendments already agreed by the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel. These include: • Deregulation of data loggers and cargo tracking devices powered by lithium batteries when those devices are attached to or included in packagings, overpacks or unit load devices and intended for use during transport; • Updates to the provisions for infectious substances to include general information on Category A medical wastes; • The addition to the List of Dangerous Goods of three new explosives entries (UN 0511 to 0513) and UN 3549 for Category A medical waste; • Revision of the entry for UN 2216 Fish meal, stabilised from ‘forbidden/forbidden’ to be allowed for carriage on both passenger and cargo only aircraft; • A number of new and modified special provisions; • Provisions to allow the lithium battery handling mark to be reduced in size when necessary to a minimum of 100 mm x 70 mm; and • Changes to Section 10 on Radioactive Materials to reflect the changes adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to SSR-6 (Rev 1) 2018.

The 61st edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations is available now from the usual resellers or direct from IATA. For more information go to https://go.updates.iata.org/ iatapublications2020.

SECTION 7 A revision to 7.1.3.1 specifies that the limited quantity mark, environmentally hazardous substances mark and lithium battery mark, when required, must be applied on one face

 ALL THOSE INVOLVED IN THE MOVEMENT OF DANGEROUS GOODS BY AIR NEED TO BE AWARE OF AND HAVE ACCESS TO THE MOST UP-TO-DATE EDITION OF THE IATA DANGEROUS GOODS REGULATIONS

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NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED NOTHING TO GO ON As lightning strikes go, it was unerringly accurate. In August, a family in Port Charlotte, Florida was awakened with a start by the bang, which not only destroyed their septic tank with a direct hit, but also ignited methane in the pipework and blew their toilet into “hundreds of pieces”. As the homeowner, one Marylou Ward, told the local paper: “There’s pieces everywhere. Pieces everywhere. It used to be our toilet. We have nothing now.”

There was other damage to the home too: windows broke and pieces of broken yard decorations were strewn across the property and into the street. Still, things could have been worse, as Ward said: “I’m just glad none of us was on the toilet. That’s the main thing.”

NO BULL There was another upsetting explosion in Australia in September, when fire broke out at the Yarram Herd Services facility. The fire was intensified by a few cylinders of flammable liquids (well, that’s what the report says) but the main problem was presented by the 100 or so cryogenic cylinders containing bull semen.

The intensity of the fire caused many of the cylinders to explode, throwing pieces of metal all around the building and leaving “a massive trail of cow semen everywhere,” according to local reports.

The event was quite devastating for the business and for local farmers, who have shares in the material. Each cylinder of semen is said to have been worth between A$500 and A$1,000 and, as the artificial insemination season was just about to begin (who knew?), they were mostly full.

Investigations are under way to try and find out the cause of the fire.

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BUZZ OFF Back in August, a man in Massachusetts found out the hard way that there are recommended methods of disposing of a hornets’ nest and there are other methods that are not recommended. To be fair to him, the 21-year-old man did first start with a traditional method, spraying the nest with Raid pesticide.

However, when that did not work, and facing the problem of reaching the nest, which was high up on his family’s home, he thought outside the box and came up with the idea of trying to shoot it down using a Roman Candle left over from the Fourth of July celebrations.

And indeed his aim was good: the nest immediately went up in flames. Unfortunately, so did the eaves of the house. He did manage to put out the fire himself, leaning out of an upstairs window with a fire extinguisher. But perhaps he will just call a pest controller next time.

WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS Over to Wisconsin for our last item which, as befits Milwaukee’s renown, involves beer. The Lakefront Brewery was forced to withdrawn its latest beer, My Turn Junk, in September after reports that bottles had been exploding.

The beer was brewed using cherries and it is thought that wild yeast on the cherries continued to ferment after bottling, generating alcohol and carbon dioxide that caused pressure to build up in the bottles. No one was injured in the resulting explosions and, interestingly, no one formally complained. They’re made of strong stuff in Wisconsin, clearly, and the brewery said that, despite the risk, the beer “is still safe to drink”.

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Ocean Insights

25

Pelican Worldwide

06

Thielmann TWS Tankcontainer-Leasing

IBC 41