Tag: World Shipping Council

IAPH joins with WSC, ICS and BIMCO The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has joined with the World Shipping Council (WSC), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and BIMCO in the effort to encourage the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to amend the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) to require, as a condition for stowing a loaded container on board a ship, that the ship and the port facility have a verified actual weight of the container. All four organizations have consultative status at the IMO.The announcement comes as the IMO's Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) subcommittee, which is responsible for improving the safety of container stowage and ships operations, continues its efforts to construct a SOLAS requirement that loaded export containers have a verified weight prior to vessel loading. As instructed by the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), DSC will consider such a requirement at its next session in September 2012 (DSC 17)."Weighing containers to confirm their actual weight is the right operational and safety practice. There is substantial experience with such a requirement in the United States demonstrating that this is feasible on a technological and commercial basis. It is time to make ...

Three cases in which refrigeration units had exploded for no apparent reason. Hundreds of refrigerated containers have been quarantined in various locations around the world following reports of compressor explosions and incidents of spontaneous combustion that have resulted in at least three fatalities.The alarm was raised by Maersk Line on 18 October when it informed the World Shipping Council's Safe Transport of Containers Working Group that it had recently experienced three cases in which refrigeration units had exploded for no apparent reason.While the precise causes of the explosions are still under investigation, Maersk said it had ascertained that all three refrigeration units involved had received gas repairs in Vietnam between late March and late April and advised other lines that had had similar gas repairs or maintenance to refrigeration units in Vietnam to identify and investigate those units.Observers say all the major reefer machinery brands - Carrier, Daikin, Thermo King and Star Cool - are potentially affected by what is suspected to be the introduction of contaminated or otherwise unsuitable refrigerant gas into the system that causes a chemical reaction when it comes into contact with R134a, oil or air, creating a flammable/explosive mixture.At least two Carrier ThinLINE and one ...

There have been no comprehensive statistics kept Proper cargo loading and stowage of containers is very important to the safety of acontainer ship, its cargo and its crew, to shore-based workers and equipment, and to theenvironment. Even with proper loading of the cargo into the container and secure stowageaboard ship, a number of factors ranging from severe weather and rough seas to morecatastrophic and rare events like ship grounding or collision can result in containers being lostoverboard while at sea.A question which has deserved an informed answer is: How many containers actuallyare lost at sea? The World Shipping Council (WSC) has seen various statements in public thatthe industry loses 10,000 containers a year at sea. The WSC understood that this number isgrossly excessive and concurs with the statement of the National Cargo Bureau: "there havebeen no comprehensive statistics kept, as to the number of containers lost overboard."In an effort to shed greater clarity on the issue, the WSC undertook a survey of itsmembers to obtain a more accurate estimate of the number of containers lost overboard on anannual basis. The WSC's members represent over 90 percent of the global containershipcapacity. Members were asked to provide the actual number of containers ...

It will significantly improve the safety of containerships and their crews The decision by the International Maritime Organization to consider the problem of misdeclared container weights has been warmly welcomed by shipowners, although no agreement has been reached about whether to move towards a mandatory regime.The World Shipping Council and International Chamber of Shipping have been waging a long campaign to ensure shippers provide accurate information about the weight and contents of containers, both of which pose a danger if incorrect.The decision of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee to solve the problem of misdeclared container weights will significantly improve the safety of containerships, their crews, shoreside personnel involved in the handling and transport of containers, and other cargo aboard the ship, the WSC and ICS said in a joint statement.

Set rule on mandatory container weighing The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has agreed to examine how to solve the problem of mis-declared container weights.At a meeting last week, the UN shipping bodys Maritime Safety Committee agreed to a proposal from the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia to address the issue of incorrectly declared containerised cargo and to take other measures to improve the safety of container stowage and ship operations.The news was welcomed by the World Shipping Council (WSC), a carrier group that claims its members control 90% of international containerised trade, and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).The groups said they hoped the IMOs decision would help save lives, reduce cargo losses and improve operational efficiency.In a joint statement, the two groups said: The WSC and ICS, along with many IMO member states and representative bodies for seafarers, dockworkers and masters, support this initiative that demonstrates the compelling need to address the problem.Verification of actual container weight before vessel loading and the availability of the actual container weights for proper and safe stowage planning will mark a long overdue and important improvement in industry safety.They added that they looked forward to assisting the IMO to create a new set of ...