ITIC Warns Not To Depend on Individual Email After This Case

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) recently released a press release in which it warns of the dangers of allowing important information to be sent to individual email addresses with no back-up.

What is the case

In a recent case, a ship owner advised its ship agent that a particular port they used regularly was no longer accepting the discharge of dangerous cargoes at certain berths.

Unaware at the time, the agent accepted a booking for a cargo that contained a quantity of...

https://mfame.guru/itic-warns-not-to-depend-on-individual-email-after-this-case/

Maritime History Notes: Beirut blast echoes Texas City catastrophe

Maritime History Notes

On Aug. 4, Beirut experienced tremendous death and destruction when a notoriously dangerous cargo caught fire and exploded in the seaport. According to investigators, the cause of the devastation was 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a port warehouse.

The commodity arrived at the Port of Beirut in 2013 from the country of Georgia on board the bulk ship Rhosus. While it was destined for Mozambique for use as fertilizer, Lebanese authorities seized the financially troubled vessel and...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/maritime-history-notes-beirut-blast-echoes-texas-city-catastrophe

AI Based Screening Software Deployed To Root Out Misdeclared Cargoes

  • AI based screening deployed to root out misdeclared cargoes, the source of boxship fire accidents. 
  • ZIMGuard system scans shippers’ cargo declarations at early stages and flags potential cases of misdeclared cargo.
  • The system is already in use in major ports in China, the US and Israel, and all ZIM routes are expected to be equipped by the end of the year.
  • Zim is ready to licence its new technology to its peers.
  • 5-10% of an average containership’s cargo is declared hazardous goods and 12% of...

https://mfame.guru/ai-based-screening-software-deployed-to-root-out-misdeclared-cargoes/

Are US Ports Safer Than Beirut in Handling Dangerous Cargo?

  • Chemical explosion at the port of Beirut and killed more than 100.
  • In 1947, cargo in the hold of the freighter Grandcamp started smoking.
  • The powerful blast destroyed ships, docks, and an adjoining Monsanto chemical plant.
  • Potentially explosive cargo may be petroleum, liquified natural gas, and chemicals.
  • Officials in two of the nation’s busiest ports said safety is always the top priority.
  • Any cargo considered dangerous is subject to Coast Guard inspection.

According to an article published...

https://mfame.guru/are-us-ports-safer-than-beirut-in-handling-dangerous-cargo/

Maritime Advisory Released on Carriage of Dangerous Goods

  • Directorate General of Shipping has released a maritime advisory.
  • The advisory deals with safe preparation, storage, handling & shipment of dangerous goods.
  • SOLAS provides provisions for the carriage of dangerous goods in packaged form and in bulk on ships
  • SOLAS & IMDG Code requires the issuance of instructions on emergency response procedures.
  • IMDG Code for the safe preparation, storage, and handling of cargo must be adhered to by all stakeholders.

The Directorate General of Shipping has...

https://mfame.guru/maritime-advisory-released-on-carriage-of-dangerous-goods/

Wan Hai Lines forces fines for misdeclared cargo

In light of the misdeclared cargo contents, Wan Hai Lines announced that forced new measures against shippers who intentionally misdeclare cargo. In fact, the Taiwanese carrier company informed that if the declarations and the shipping documents are not true, it will immediately suspend the delivery operation.

Specifically, WHL warned its customers that has all the rights to suspend the delivery of the cargoes or terminate the delivery contract for the cargoes at any time during the carriage.

GET...

https://safety4sea.com/wan-hai-lines-forces-fines-for-misdeclared-cargo/

Coconut charcoal to have caused the fire on Yantian Express

The Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) published an investigation report concerning the fire in the area of the deck cargo on board the container ship YANTIAN EXPRESS on the Atlantic Ocean, identifying Coconut charcoal as the likely cause of last year’s fire.

It was during the early morning hours of 3 January 2019, when a fire broke out in the deck cargo in the area of cargo hold 2 on board the German flagged container ship YANTIAN EXPRESS.

At that time, the ship was on the...

https://safety4sea.com/coconut-charcoal-to-have-caused-the-fire-on-yantian-express/

Mislabelling Dangerous Goods Cause Of Headache For Shipping Industry

  • The NCB probe was launched after a fire in March 2018 crippled the Maersk Honam, a giant container ship operated by A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S.
  • The fire killed five of its 27 crew in the Arabian Sea, the front third of the ship was torched in a fire that burned for weeks.
  • The failure rate for containers that were declared moving nondangerous cargo to the U.S. was 51%.
  • Boxes from Latin America and India had the lowest scores, with 82% and 87% of them, respectively, deemed potential fire hazards.

Ac...

http://mfame.guru/mislabelling-dangerous-goods-cause-of-headache-for-shipping-industry/

IMO, IPPC improve collaboration on dealing with cargo contamination

In efforts of dealing with contamination of sea containers and cargoes from pests the International Plant Protection Convention launched a Sea Containers Complementary Action Plan, also establishing a Sea Containers Task Force to supervise the actions.

Specifically, IPPC contracting parties agreed to measure the impact of the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code) over a five-year period. They also agreed to increase awareness of pest risks related to sea...

https://safety4sea.com/imo-ippc-improve-collaboration-on-dealing-with-cargo-contamination/

Tackling cargo misdeclaration – a first line of defence against container fires

Container fires may now be occurring on a weekly basis and in Gard’s experience most are associated with cargo misdeclaration. However just as with tackling the fire itself, tackling misdeclaration is a significant industry challenge. Thus, Mark Russell, Vice President, Head of Cargo Claims in London and  Charmaine Chu, Claims Executive in Hong Kong discuss the severity of cargo misdeclaration and the impact it has on the shipping market.

Stories describing danger at sea change with the times....

https://safety4sea.com/tackling-cargo-misdeclaration-a-first-line-of-defence-against-container-fires/