Just over a quarter of incidents where causation was detected were attributable to cargo being misdeclared, second only to poor packaging, according to data obtained by the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS)
UK P&I Club risk assessor David Nichol told CIR magazine that it was imperative for the safety of the ship and crew that necessary steps were taken to handle and stow dangerous goods in as safe a manner as possible. “All dangerous goods must be carried in accordance with the provisions of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, which is a set of globally accepted rules that enables packaged dangerous goods to be carried safely by sea. As around 10% of all container cargoes constitute dangerous goods, virtually all container ship services fall within the scope of the Code.”