Forum to consider hazardous cargo concerns
A number of high-profile containership fires has brought the issue of misdeclared dangerous goods transport to the fore. A forum to be held in November will seek to find solutions to the ongoing threat
Panel of experts from industry and regulators to seek solutions on containership fire issue
ONE of the universal concerns that unites the container shipping sector is the danger posed by hazardous cargoes.
The container shipping sector is engaged in a forensic analysis of all aspects of transporting hazardous cargo to identify and implement the best options for minimising, if not eliminating, the risks of hazardous and misdeclared cargoes.
The list of human and capital casualties for container shipping from hazardous cargo mishaps has become woefully long in recent years, but incidents keep occurring.
The fire on board MSC Flaminia in 2012 claimed three lives and has led to regulatory changes, as well as a seminal court judgment on liability between stakeholders.
The Maersk Honam casualty in 2018, in which five seafarers were killed, has become the catalyst for the kind of industry resolve that began to take shape throughout 2018.
The Yantian Express fire in January 2019, followed by others through the year, has raised the volume of concern further.
Lloyd’s List and its research and consultancy counterparts at Lloyd’s List Intelligence will host an interactive forum next month in London with industry leaders, coinciding with Informa’s Global Freight Awards, to drive collaborative effort to tackle the faults in the global supply chain of dangerous goods.
It will examine the options being put forward to stamp out undeclared and misdeclared shipments, poor packing and securing in the unit load industry, and other cargo-related malpractices that can have deadly consequences, and discuss the necessary actions to protect lives, the environment, ships and cargo.
It will also evaluate the progress towards greater collaboration across the industry, encompassing shippers, forwarders, ports, terminals, insurers, and other stakeholders, as well as container lines.
TT Club, which is campaigning for change with its #Fit4Freight cargo integrity campaign, is sponsoring the event on November 14 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, to be chaired by Lloyd’s List Containers editor James Baker.
Contributors will include Peregrine Storrs-Fox, risk management director at TT Club; Laurent Audaz, head of P&I insurance, legal and claims at Mediterranean Shipping Co; and Tom Sommerwerck, managing director at Döhle Assekuranzkontor.
Further information and registration details can be found at: https://maritimeintelligence.informa.com/events/2019-forums/gfa