News bulletin – safety

NEWS BULLETIN

SAFETY

FINES FOR LAX SHIPPERS

A number of container lines have recently announced measures to discourage the misdeclaration of dangerous goods, including fines of up to $35,000 for each mis-declared cargo discovered. The move has been welcomed by the TT Club, in light of growing concerns about lax cargo packing practices and erroneous, sometimes fraudulent, declaration of cargoes.

“Clearly, the shipper has primary responsibility to declare fully and honestly so that carriers are able to take appropriate actions to achieve safe transport,” says Peregrine Storrs-Fox, risk management director at the TT Club. “Since this is not always the case, carriers have to put in place increasingly sophisticated and costly control mechanisms to ‘know their customers’, screen booking information and physically inspect shipments. Equally, carriers have the opportunity to review any barriers to accurate shipment declaration, including minimising any unnecessary restrictions and surcharges. Penalising shippers where deficiencies are found should be applauded. Furthermore, government enforcement agencies are encouraged to take appropriate action under national or international regulations to deter poor practices further.”

Under the banners ‘Cargo Integrity’ and #Fit4Freight, TT Club has been collaborating with stakeholders through the freight supply chain to highlight ongoing risks, including severe ship fires, arising from poorly packed and declared cargo. TT Club’s Cargo Integrity campaign seeks not only to promote awareness of good practice, such as set out in the CTU Code, but also to reveal the plethora of influences from both direct and indirect stakeholders within the supply chain that result in behaviours leading to dangerous incidents on land or at sea.

“A key element of the campaign is to identify levers – both sticks and carrots – that are available to improve a safety culture in container transport, including considering unintended consequences inherent in trading arrangements or fiscal/security interventions and the possibilities presented by technological innovation,” Storrs-Fox adds.

HELP FOR MARINE RISKS

The Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI) has published a new book, Packaged Chemicals by Sea: Risk Mitigation. The book provides an insight into the marine logistics distribution chain and the responsibilities of chemical manufacturers and their logistics partners in ensuring safety during marine transport. It draws on the knowledge of all stakeholders and participants in CDI’s International Marine Packed Cargo Audit Scheme (IMPCAS).

The book is written as a practical sequential prompt, an aide-mémoire for managers, employees and contractors, and as a consolidated informative guide for those persons new to the logistics industry. CDI recognises that the loss of experience and corporate memory in the logistics industry has to be stemmed if the “all-too frequent number of incidents involving dangerous goods” is to be reduced.

The book is available from Witherby Seamanship; online orders can be made at www.witherbyseamanship.com/cdi-packagedchemicals-by-sea-risk-mitigation.html.

UPDATES ON STEEL DRUMS

The Industrial Steel Drum Institute (ISDI) has been involved in two recent initiatives to improve standards in the manufacture and use of steel drums. In collaboration with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), an update to their 2004 standard for steel drums and pails, ANSI MH2 has been issued.

“This standard is primarily a dimensional standard for the manufacture of freestanding steel drums and pails having capacities from 5 to 58 gallons. The dimensions for sizes and types most commonly used in domestic and export shipments are included in this standard as well as key construction elements,” explains Kyle Stavig, ISDI chairman.

ISDI and Transcaer have meanwhile released a new ‘Seconds Count’ video, a 90-second animation aimed at educating first responders on the basics of UN markings on tighthead steel drums.

“In business or emergency situations, UN markings provide the critical information needed to ensure drums are safely and securely managed,” says Stavig. “We hope this information will help first responders better understand the nature of the materials they are working with and how to handle them during an event.” The video, the 30th in the series, can be viewed on YouTube.