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Cargo group laments lack of safety reports

[ September 17, 2024   //   ]

The Cargo Integrity Group (CIG) is calling on more national administrations to report the findings of their container inspection programmes after an analysis found that less than 5% were regularly submitting results to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in publicly available form.

Under resolutions adopted more than 20 years ago member governments of the IMO agreed to conduct routine inspections of freight containers and the cargoes packed in them in a consistent way with findings to be submitted annually to IMO so that a global picture could be obtained and safety improvements identified.

CIG warns that insufficient data is available for IMO or the industry to draw reliable conclusions.

It understands that some countries are carrying out inspections but not submitting the findings as agreed.

The dangers of poorly packed, mishandled or misdeclared containers has been demonstrated again recently in a series of fires and explosions aboard container ships. Whilst the precise circumstances of these incidents remain under investigation, CIG is concerned that measures already in place to help identify possible weaknesses are not being fully implemented and that opportunities for improving compliance are being missed.

CIG partner organisations are also alarmed to learn that the IMO is considering discontinuing the collation and publication of these reports in a form that is easily accessible to industry.

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