Günter Wichmann

Ocean transport of dangerous goods in containers

In recent years, there have been a number of large fires on container ships that were attributable to the containerised transport of dangerous cargo. What are the causes of such fires, what regulations are there, and who is liable if a loss occurs?

The size of container ships is continually growing: they are so big nowadays that the probability of their having undeclared or wrongly declared dangerous cargo on board is very high. But this sometimes only comes to light when the cargo causes an explosion or a fire.

The containers involved are often stowed below deck in places that are difficult to access — with catastrophic consequences not only for other containers and their contents but for the vessel itself.

The IMDG Code — Binding regulations for transporting dangerous cargo at sea

Containerisation and multimodal transport3 are increasing. This also means that more and more containers with dangerous goods — cargo that can injure health, damage property, or impair the environment — are being transported on the world’s oceans.

It is currently estimated that the transportation of dangerous cargo accounts for up to 20% of the world’s container traffic. The IMDG Code (International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code) contains binding provisions on the transportation of dangerous cargo at sea. It was adopted about 40 years ago by the UN International Maritime Organization and is based on the UN’s recommendations on the transport of dangerous goods.

The IMDG Code is to be observed by all parties involved in the transport of dangerous goods at sea: manufacturers, distributors, shippers, carriers, etc. It prescribes how to handle goods that are classified as dangerous. It governs, for example, the packing, segregating, and securing of dangerous goods in containers and the stowing and segregating of such containers on board ship.

All the dangerous goods listed in the Code have a unique UN classification number. There are nine classes of materials with various sub-classes.

Container packing certificate

The manufacturer or distributor of a substance listed in the IMDG Code is obliged to provide the carrier with comprehensive information on the cargo — including its "technical name", UN classification number, and dangerous goods class. In the case of containerised goods, the person responsible for stowing the goods in the container must also issue a container packing certificate and ensure that

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  the containers used for the transport of dangerous goods are approved, stable, and properly maintained in accordance with the International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC) of 1972;
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  the regulations governing the packing, stowing, securing, and segregating of dangerous substances in the containers are observed;
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  the carrier is provided with a signed dangerous goods declaration which states that the goods are described, classified, packed, and labelled in accordance with the IMDG Code.

This harbours a high potential for error as determining the correct "technical name" is often very complex.

Frequent errors include

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  designating the dangerous cargo incorrectly and stating an incorrect UN classification number in the carriage and/or dangerous goods documents;
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  packing the dangerous goods incorrectly;
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  stowing and securing the dangerous goods incorrectly in the container;
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  and labelling the dangerous goods container incorrectly.

There is some disagreement on the degree to which dangerous goods are intentionally declared wrongly or not at all. This may be due to the fact that the transportation of dangerous cargo involves considerable effort and expense and results in higher freight charges.

An incorrect declaration may also be due to ignorance or error. Even slight differences in the designation can mean that different regulations apply.

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