Business, Freight News, Logistics

Faulty docs or packing at the heart of cargo incidents

[ July 26, 2013   //   Chris ]

Almost a quarter of cargo incident cases are due to misdeclaration of the cargo and a further 37% to poor or incorrect packing, says CINS, the Cargo Incident Notification System – an initiative by a number of shipping lines and managed by the Container Owners Association (COA).

Current CINS chairman, who works in Hapag Lloyd’s Cargo Services/Dangerous Cargo Department said: “We have identified that 24% of all incidents involve mis-declaration and this is probably the first time that this ‘iceberg’ risk has been quantified. With these findings, CINS will engage with enforcement agencies, competent authorities and the IMO to gain support for the relevant changes to legislation or other safe practice recommendations.”

CINS is a database created by COA Members from top liner operators CMA CGM, Evergreen Line, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk Line and MSC in response to the number of incidents and problems that regularly disrupt operations and endanger lives, property or the environment. Operators use CINS to capture important information relating to cargo and container incidents, providing an early warning of causes for concern.

This may include cargoes that display dangerous characteristics but are not yet recognised by the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, as well as continuing or emerging unsafe practices in the unit load industry.
“The subject of packing cargo is a current focus throughout the transport industry, adds Schwede, “and rightly so, according to results found through the CINS database. Poor or incorrect packaging are persistent causes, accounting for almost 40% of incidents over nearly two years. This is all the more concerning when we recognise that more than a third of the incidents involve corrosive cargoes, which by nature will react with other substances.”argo insurer, the TT Club – an advisory member of the CINS committee – recently analysed the data. It found that 80% of incidents involved dangerous goods and almost half relate to leakage, with a further quarter reported as misdeclared. Some 8% of incidents involve fire or explosion. Significantly, there was a marked increase in reports of incidents relating to mis-declared cargo in the first four months of 2013 compared with the previous 18 months.

Since the public launch of the database in September 2011, the lines participating in CINS have more than doubled, assisting with populating the database, which is hosted by the COA and participants now account for some 58% of world container slot capacity.

Tags: Cargo Incident Notification System, Container Owners’ Association