The meaning of Declare (verb) is to make known or state clearly, especially in explicit or formal terms; to announce officially; proclaim; to state emphatically; to manifest; reveal; show; When none of the above happens, it is termed as “to misdeclare” or “misdeclaration“.. … Read more here..
In the IMDG Code, many actions are listed but the responsibility to carry out that action may not be specifically assigned to any particular person.
The IMDG Code does however assign responsibilities to named persons or entities in certain cases, such as;
No one knows what is inside the box; everyone depends on the dangerous goods declaration.
As has been covered across various articles on this site, the process of hazardous cargo approval, acceptance and shipment is quite complex and ALL stakeholders involved in the shipment of this highly specialised cargo must be fully aware of the requirements..
This cannot be repeated enough..
From pre-shipment approval, approval of shipment, movement to port of load, loading on board, precautions while at sea, discharge at destination, movement to place of delivery, every process required to be followed by the IMDG Code must be followed at all times..
Seemingly there are several cases of non-compliance and non-adherence in this regard, based on which, Transnet, the State Owned Enterprise in South Africa responsible for all port operations has amended its Handling and Transport of Dangerous Cargoes National Procedures..
In the past few years, we have seen a large number of maritime disasters such as catastrophic fires onboard ships mostly due to misdeclared and undeclared dangerous goods.
Some of the vessels which had major fires in the year 2019 are Yantian Express, APL Vancouver, E.R. Kobe, Grande America, KMTC Hong Kong, APL Le Havre.
Most of the cases involving leakage, fires, cargo damage is linked to undeclared, misdeclared or poorly packed containers.
Gatvol (ˈxʌtˌfɒl) is a commonly used South African term meaning “fed up” or “I have had it up to here”.. This is seems to be the mood in the Hapag Lloyd camp as they recently announced hefty fines for misdeclaration of dangerous goods..
2019 seems to be fast becoming the year of maritime disasters.. There have been several maritime disasters one after the other in the recent years, especially in 2019.. In the latest incident on the 25th of May, a fire broke out on board a container ship KMTC Hong Kong, at the Laem Chabang port in Thailand..
It has been reported that a fire erupted on the ship triggering a blast which left at least 25 workers suffering from smoke inhalation and other injuries, forcing officials to evacuate workers and temporarily close three piers..
Many business owners jump straight into nationwide and international shipments — even with potentially hazardous goods.
Yet, with your venture being liable if things go wrong, it’s necessary to continually look for ways to ensure packages arrive at their destination safely and effectively.
Here are some tips you can follow over the coming months to help you with this.
Hazardous goods can be defined as materials or items with hazardous properties which if not properly controlled, may present a potential hazard to human and animal health and safety, the environment and infrastructure..
Hazardous goods must be classified, packaged, marked, labelled and packed as per the regulations set out by the IMDG Code by the International Maritime Organisation and also needs to be handled with utmost care and consideration of its dangerous nature..
Any misdeclaration, miscommunication or incorrect documentation could have severe consequences and could prove disastrous to human lives on shore or on a ship..
We all need to understand that Dangerous Goods or Hazardous Goods have been given this name for a reason..
In this article we discuss the mandatory details required for the transportation of hazardous cargo by road.. Are the transporters taking these requirements seriously..?? Join the discussion..