Pest-resistant container design took centre stage at a meeting between specialists from the global container shipping industry and biosecurity experts, aiming to address the $423 billion global challenge posed by invasive pests every year.
Attendees at the International Symposium on Optimising Container Design to Mitigate Risks of Pest Contamination included representatives from major carriers, leasing companies, container manufacturers, biosecurity experts, and plant health stakeholders. A key focus was a groundbreaking study by the Australian government comparing standard containers with modified designs. The study revealed that while 8% of standard containers showed signs of pest contamination, the rate dropped to just 1.45% in modified units, demonstrating the potential of targeted design modifications.
The symposium was hosted in Rotterdam on 11th November 2024, organised by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat in partnership with the Bureau International des Containers (BIC), the Container Owners Association (COA), and the World Shipping Council (WSC).
Container design has historically focused on production efficiency and durability, but in a global supply chain, we must also prioritize pest resistance. By rethinking container design, we can mitigate the risks of invasive species and safeguard biodiversity, forests, and global food supplies,
… said Mike Downes, senior technical expert at BIC and Chair of the Container Cleanliness Industry Advisory Group supporting the IPPC’s Sea Container Focus Group (SCFG).
The symposium explored practical modifications such as floor designs that eliminate gaps and cracks and prevent nail holes; understructures with fewer horizontal ledge configurations; and the elimination of bitumastic under-coatings. These design changes aim to make containers less hospitable to invasive pests without compromising functionality or cost-efficiency.
Data from interceptions collected by several countries indicate that approximately 90% of pest contamination found on the external surfaces of sea containers is linked to the understructures, while contamination on internal surfaces is primarily associated with the floorboards,
… commented Rama Karri, Director at the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
At the end of the conference, a working group with representatives from major container owners, operators, and manufacturers was established to move forward with the promising ideas introduced. The group will present proposals for container design modifications to the IPPC’s SCFG and ultimately to the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), which oversees the IPPC’s activities regarding container cleanliness.
This is a critical societal issue, and collaborative efforts like this symposium are helping broaden our industry’s recognition of the problem and strengthen its commitment to accelerate efforts to create a pest-resistant supply chain,
… said Lars Kjaer, Senior Vice President of the World Shipping Council.
To remind, earlier this year, the World Shipping Council along with – the Bureau International des Containers (BIC), the Container Owners Association (COA), and the Institute of International Container Lessors (IICL) released the updated version of the Prevention of Pest Contamination of Containers: Joint Industry Guidelines for the Cleaning of Containers.
