What name should your cargo be known by in a hazardous shipment..??

Proper Shipping Name, Technical Name, Chemical Name, Trade Name are some of the names your cargo is classified into when shipping hazardous cargo..

A lot of improper declarations and incorrect names are known to have been used when filling out a hazardous request/declaration..

What name should your cargo be known by in a hazardous shipment..??

Let me try to clarify these names to you..

Proper Shipping Name : The IMDG code 3.1.2.1 describes it as

3.1.2.1

The Proper Shipping Name is that portion of the entry most accurately describing the goods in the Dangerous Goods List, which is shown in upper-case characters (plus any numbers, Greek letters, ‘sec’, ‘tert’, and the letters m, n, o, p, which form an integral part of the name). An alternative Proper Shipping Name may be shown in brackets following the main Proper Shipping Name (such as ETHANOL (ETHYL ALCOHOL)).  

Technical Name : The IMDG Code describes it as :

3.1.2.8.1.1

The technical name shall be a recognized chemical or biological name, or other name currently used in scientific and technical handbooks, journals and texts. Trade names shall not be used for this purpose. 

Examples illustrating the selection of the Proper Shipping Name supplemented with the technical name of goods for such N.O.S. entries are: 

• UN 3394 ORGANOMETALLIC SUBSTANCE, LIQUID, PYROPHORIC, WATER-REACTIVE (trimethylgallium)
• UN 2902 PESTICIDE, LIQUID, TOXIC, N.O.S. (drazoxolon).

Chemical Name : is the actual chemical composition that the cargo has.. If there are several ingredients, the most active ingredients name may be chosen..

Trade Name : is the name by which the cargo is known in the local retail market..

Let me illustrate this with an example of Baygon 70% WP Insecticide

• Proper Shipping Name : CARBAMATE PESTICIDE, SOLID, TOXIC
• Technical Name : Carbamate Insecticide
• Chemical Name : 2-(1-Methylethoxyl) phenol methylcarbamate
• Trade Name : Baygon 70% WP Insecticide

The Proper Shipping Name is the name that has to be declared in the Hazardous packing declaration alongwith the UN Number and IMO Class..

Some people also get confused with these names and try to use any of the above names looking for HS Code when filing customs documentation..

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) of tariff nomenclature is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers for classifying traded products developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO)..

The correct commodity information must be input when looking for the HS codes and that code must be used when filing the documentation with customs..

Some of the sites where you can check the HS codes are

• http://www.cargoinfo.co.za/customs/customstree.asp
• http://www.foreign-trade.com/reference/hscode.htm
• http://hts.usitc.gov/

For above cargo example, you must search the HS Code : Insecticide which will return the value – 3808.50.01.. 

More details on Hazardous cargo shipments and HS codes can be found here :

• https://www.shippingandfreightresource.com/category/hazardous/
  
• https://www.shippingandfreightresource.com/2009/09/16/what-is-a-hs-code/