ILO attacks problem of misdeclared container weights

THE UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) has issued the Safety in the Supply Chain report on badly stuffed containers, described as a wake-up call by London's Containerisation International.


The report identifies the problem of inaccurate cargo weights, coupled with a bad stowage, which creates an "intermodal accident waiting to happen on every road, rail, barge, feeder, terminal and ship".


"If you think any fool can stuff a container, think again," said the ILO report. "One in six container journeys results in damaged cargo. Many incidents are caused, or made worse by bad packing."


The report says misdeclaration should be a major concern "because the victims of accidents attributed to poor practices in packing containers can be the general public, transport workers, who have no control over packing".


The rapid growth of the trade, particularly in emerging markets where it is not unknown for containers to be "stuffed directly in open courtyards or in the street" without scales.


The British Marine Accident Investigation Bureau's [MAIB] report into the MSC Napoli breakup in the English Channel in January 2007 pointed to the problem of misdeclared container weights as a contributory cause. Twenty per cent of the boxes taken off dry from the stricken ship proved to be three tonnes more than their declared weights, one was 20 tonnes over its declared weight, the report said.


The ILO notes that "container shipping is the only sector of the [shipping] industry in which the mass of a cargo is not accurately known".
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)