SOUTHAMPTON FREIGHT SERVICES LTD

Dangerous Goods By Sea Awareness – Know The Rules

After many incidents of mis declared dangerous goods causing fires, serious damage and even death, the authorities are cracking down on the issue and will be enforcing large financial and legal penalties on companies who mis declare dangerous goods.

Airfreight regulations have been in place and reinforced for decades, which strict controls over packaging, documentation and training. At SFS our teams are fully trained under the IATA regulations and continue to update in these areas.

But movements by ocean freight have recently created grave concerns for the industry, with the safety of crew, ships and cargo onboard, plus the environmental impact of a fire at sea, and shipping lines are now enforcing regulations more stringently to ensure the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG) law is upheld, and it is you the shipper who will be liable for all costs and consequences related to violations, fines, damages, incidents, claims and corrective managers resulting from cases of undeclared or mis declared dangerous cargoes.

According to The Loadstar, in August 2019, “fire swept through several containers onboard the aboard the APL Le Havre just days after carriers announced they would impose heavy fines on mis declared dangerous goods. The Ministry of Defence in Gujarat State said fire had forced a diversion of the 10,100 teu vessel on Friday night, after it left Karachi en route to Mumbai. Reports claim six boxes were involved, with the Indian coastguard resorting to flooding the boxes after early efforts to tackle the blaze were hampered by heavy weather. The fire was brought under control after four hours and the next task is to determine the damage caused to the 10,000 teu vessel.”

Incidents such as this have been on the rise in recent years and, with the regulatory authorities tightening their grip on undeclared or mis declared dangerous goods, we urge our clients to engage with us relating to any concerns they may have over their ocean freight cargoes.

At SFS we can offer specific advice via our trained personnel (IATA, IMDG and ADR), or via our dangerous good safety advisor (DGSA) and can assist in providing detailed training for your personnel, if required.

Please contact our sales team for further information at sales@sotonfreight.co.uk or call our office on 023 80860999