Answers to Test your shipping knowledge – Week 02/2009
- Which would be more difficult to pack in a 20’ gp – 20 tons of steel rods or 20 tons of cotton wool.. Why..??
(20 tons of cotton wool.. why..?? because 20′ containers are primarily designed to carry heavy cargo and not optimised for volumetric cargo.. cotton wool will take up more space in the 20′ container before it reaches the 20 ton weight..)
- If I say, “towards the front of the container”, which side of the container am I talking about..??
(that would be the end opposite to the doors.. this is sometimes also referred to as “nose”..)
- If there are 2 seals on a container, which seal number must I as a line or agent take into account as the important one..??
(in a container there are two doors.. the left door must be closed first before the right door is closed.. so if there is a seal on the left door and a seal on the right door, the seal on the right door is considered to the more important one because this seal would have to be broken first in order to gain entry into the container)
- What is the difference between Multi-Modal, Through Bill of Lading and Inter-Modal..??
(In general, all three (also known as combined transport bill of lading) are bills of lading covering cargo that uses multiple modes of transport – rail, road, sea.. Through bill of lading differs slightly because here the carrier (or whoever issues the bill of lading) is liable and responsible for areas of carriage that is controlled by them..)
- What is the full form of EmS & MFAG No. in the Hazardous Packing Declaration..??
(EmS = Emergency Schedules & MFAG = Medical and First Aid Guide.. This is usually what the ships crew would refer to in case of any accidents or incidences with the haz cargo on board.. Therefore it is highly imperative that these are filled in correctly.. Also refer to my article on Hazardous Cargo in this blog..)
As for Q3:
3. If there are 2 seals on a container, which seal number must I as a line or agent take into account as the important one..??
(in a container there are two doors.. the left door must be closed first before the right door is closed.. so if there is a seal on the left door and a seal on the right door, the seal on the right door is considered to the more important one because this seal would have to be broken first in order to gain entry into the container)
we can put 2 seals on the right door , they have 2 places to put seals on each door. and if so which seal number must I as a line or agent take into account as the important one..??
(the Line seal as the other seal may be for inspection company as SGS.
Essam Hamed
Egypt
Hello Essam, under all circumstances the line seal will be the main seal because that is what the shipping line has given the customer and that is what the customer must use.. This will be the only legal seal number..
Hi Hariesh,
Appreciate your prompt reply, but according to this reply there is no meaning of the question “which seal number must I as a line or agent take into account as the important one..??” because the only important and legal seal is the Line Seal.
thanks,
By the way I send you an email message yesterday concerning the Container check digit, may you have a look on it and provide me with your opinion.
Essam Hamed
Egypt
Hello Essam, you as a shipping line or agent must look for the seal number that you gave to the customer..
Thank you for this
Hi! Was wondering if we will see a new quiz for March?
more info on bills of lading.
Hi Marlin, not clear.. Do you need mor info on bills of lading..??