Insurers group demands training for handlers of dangerous cargo

MARINE insurers group, the TT Club, has called for compulsory training for the handlers of dangerous goods on land before shipment by sea, a mandate, they say, that should be enforced under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.

"On the super post-Panamax 8,500-TEU vessels plying the Asia-Europe trade that means the contents of upwards of 600 containers are declared hazardous. At a conservative estimate that's 8,000 tonnes per ship,' said a TT Club statement.

The group's demand came in support of a proposal by the UK delegation at a meeting last week of the IMO's subcommittee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargo and Containers (DSC).

The TT Club claims that industry figures show that between 5 and 10 per cent of an average containership's payload is made up of declared hazardous goods.

According to Clarksons, of the 116 million TEU transported in 2006, only 10 million TEU were declared "dangerous" containers.

The consequences of badly packed, mis-declared and inaccurately labelled hazardous cargo in terms of loss of life, damage to vessels and destruction of goods, continues to be at unacceptable levels, a statement from the insurance group said.

Speaking at the IMO session, TT's risk management director Peregrine Storrs-Fox said: "Historically, IMO members have been opposed to such a move on the grounds that the organisation has no jurisdiction on land.

"However, TT Club contends that training of shore-based operatives is vital in increasing safety throughout the transport chain and urges national maritime administrations and ship registries to support the proposal," he said.

Mr Storrs-Fox says that on average of just five boxes per year are reported on systematic inspections. This, he said, amounts to an inspection rate of less than 0.5 per cent of declared cargo.