Containerisation has been a game-changer in the carriage of goods. However, in the last decade or so, unscrupulous shippers and freight forwarders to save a few dollars on freight, have seriously jeopardised an efficient and safe mode of cargo in containers by falsifying container weights, cargo contents as well as not packing and lashing goods within the container as per requirements of international standards and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code.
To name a few container ship accidents in recent years: 2012’s MSC Flaminia, 2017’s APL Austria, 2018’s Maersk Honam, 2020’s ONE Apus, 2021’s Maersk Essen, Maersk Eindhoven, XPress Pearl, and MSC Messina, and from this year there’s been the MSC Elsa-3, Grande Brasile, Altay, and Wan Hai 503.
As per Lloyd’s Register, misdeclared cargo (weight and contents) is the third contributing factor causing container ship accidents.
Cumulative under-declaration of container weight can lead to serious stability issues. Stowing a heavy 18-ton container declared by the shipper as eight tons on the higher side can result in a top-heavy situation, making the vessel “tender” in maritime jargon. A tender ship is prone to heavier rolling, which increases stress on container stacks and lashings, far beyond the designed permissible architecture for the vessels, resulting in containers breaking loose and falling overboard into the sea.
Storing an exothermic (giving off heat) cargo next to a flammable liquid may not cause any harm while the container lies stable in a yard; however, a vessel’s motion in a seaway and marine environment can result in thermal runaway, combustion, fire, explosion, and release of flammable, toxic gases. Ships are neither equipped nor are seafarers trained to handle such extraordinary chemical disasters.
Despite the mandatory requirement by the IMO in July 2016, which made verified gross mass (VGM) a compulsory requirement, shippers and freight forwarders continue to flout the rules, and, unfortunately, have hardly been held accountable. A shipowner pays a heavy price for reasons beyond the scope of their ship operation business. On the other hand, international customs are neither equipped nor required, as per Chapter Three of the Revised Kyoto Convention of the World Customs Organization and the SAFE Framework of Standards (2005), to verify the content and weight of every container. They rely on what is declared by a shipper or freight forwarder in the shipping bill.
Relying exclusively on a shipper or freight forwarder’s declaration is the big hole and the Achilles’ heel in this door-to-door service.
Essential plugs we recommend include an independent body approved by the administration (such as a classification society) that should be appointed to verify contents, weight, packaging, and lashing at the stuffing stage, as stuffing is the most critical process in a container’s journey. Such a verification should become a prerequisite for customs to issue the cargo manifest.
It should be mandatory for every shipper and freight forwarder to obtain an IMO number as a unique identifier and include this in the shipping bill and customs manifest of every container loaded by a shipper or freight forwarder.
The International Civil Aviation Organization requires shippers and freight forwarders to be trained in handling IMDG cargo.
A similar requirement should become mandatory for shippers and freight forwarders in the marine sector.
As misdeclaration can be catastrophic, wrong or false declaration should be treated as a cognizable offense by all member states of the IMO, with suitable deterrent punishments and heavy fines mandated in their respective laws.
The World Customs Council and the IMO should hold a joint session to discuss this growing menace and the straws of excess baggage that are breaking the back of container ship owners.
Source: Splash 247
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