A senior crew assembled by Container News from the insurance, vessel operating, cargo handling and regulatory institutions gathered to discuss key issues raised by Container News in our 2020 Cargo Integrity Campaign.
The virtual Cargo Integrity Seminar Series was chaired by Container News’ Managing Editor Nick Savvides. During each seminar, expert speakers made a short presentation, followed by an interactive Q&A session where all speakers answered questions submitted by webinar attendees.
The Cargo Integrity Seminar Series was sponsored by the TT Club
Seminar 1: Securing the supply chain through better design
Original broadcast date: October 15, 2020. Length: 1 hour 10 minutes.
Speakers and topics:Â Â
- Safer, smarter, greener DNV GL’s motto. The company is a safety and assurance provider and plays an advisory role to the IMO. What are the design innovations that the class society sees coming our way that will help protect others from dangerous goods? Are their smarter systems in the pipeline and will they offer environmental protections? Jan-Olaf Probst DNV GL’s Director Business Development (Hamburg) and container ship expert provided some answers.
- Regulation will necessarily play a part in keeping those working in the industry safe, as well as those who live in the proximity of facilities where dangerous goods are handled. What measures are the IMO taking to make sure society is protected? Why has regulation fallen behind the design concepts of vessels? Bingbing Song, Technical Officer, Sub-Division for Marine Technology & Cargoes, Maritime Safety Division at the IMO provided the insights on regulation.
- Capt Amarinder Singh Brar, is a former container ship captain who has moved onshore to the LOC Group. Capt. Brar has had to live with the container ship fore rules, in this seminar he described the anxieties and the short-comings of the regulatory regime which has been left behind by the development of container ships, both technologically and in scale. A master’s eye view of living with inadequate fire protection on the high seas.
Seminar 2: Supply chain security and knowing what’s in the box
Original broadcast date: October 22, 2020. Length: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Speakers and topics:
- What are the ways that intentionally misdeclared as well as mistakenly misdeclared cargoes can impact the supply chain and those working within it? Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director at the TT Club examined this significant topic.
- Ports and their role in the supply chain. How can accidents such as the recent Beirut explosions and the 2015 the Tianjin accident which between them killed hundreds of people, injured many thousands, caused many businesses to be destroyed and has seen millions of dollars’ worth of damage be prevented? Could it happen again? Richard Brough the Head of the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association gave a virtual walk through the terminals of the world and answer some pressing questions.
- In a landmark ruling following the fatal MSC Flaminia fire in 2012 a judge said that the shipper and forwarder must shoulder much of the responsibility for the accident. Laurent Audaz, Head of Insurance, Legal and Claims at MSC looked at the effect of this ruling and how it could alter the container shipping industry.
- Captain Zadok Radecker, Head of Special Cargoes, Sustainability and Cargo Security at Zim discussed the development of ZimGuard and how the system works to find misdeclared and non-declared cargo. The ZimGuard algorithm will develop as it works to protect vessels from dangerous cargoes, learning from past experience and providing ever greater protection.
- James Douglas, CEO of Exis technologies talked about one of the major causes of fires on board container ships, that is misdeclared and non-declared cargo. Hazcheck Detect is a cargo screening tool that aims to prevent the accidental misdeclaration of hazardous cargo and the intentional non-declaration of the similar dangerous freight. Clearly one of the best answers to fighting fires is to prevent them in the first place.
Seminar 3: Lashing, disputes and safety
Original broadcast date: October 29, 2020. Length: 1 hour 15 minutes.
Speakers and topics:
- Lashing issues have been the cause of intense and prolonged discussions within the maritime industry, seafarers and their unions believe that there are safety pressing issues involved, hence their insistence on the so-called dockers-clause in joint negotiations with lines. The International Transport-Workers Federation’s Belgian Inspector, Christian Roos explained the union’s concerns.
- Storing up trouble: Daniel Millett, Senior Master Mariner at Brookes Bell, says that a failure to pack containers safely can cause disruption later. Daniel shared some of his personal experience of being a marine consultant in container cases. Including unsecured cargo inside containers, incorrect or poorly maintained lashings and containers not secured in accordance with the Cargo Securing Manual.
- Accident investigator for the Dutch Safety Board and Chair of the Marine Accident Investigators’ International Forum (MAIIF), Lianne van der Veen gave a run down on the complex investigation into the loss of more than 342 containers off the Dutch coast from the 19,000TEU MSC Zoe in January 2019. The investigation found that the causes of the accident were multiple, but that specific conditions relating to the vessel design and the local hydrography played a major role in this event.
