TT Club demands shore-side dangerous goods training

TT Club demands shore-side dangerous goods training TT Club, the London-based specialist transport insurer, is calling for improved shore-side training for the handling of dangerous goods to avoid loss of life, damage to vessels and destruction of goods.
   The insurer wants all training of those handling dangerous goods on land prior to shipment by sea to be mandated under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.
   The demand came in support of a proposal by the United Kingdom delegation at a meeting last week of the International Maritime Organization's subcommittee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC).
   'Historically, IMO members have been opposed to such a move on the grounds that the organization has no jurisdiction on land. However, TT Club contends that training of shore-based operatives is vital in increasing safety throughout the transport chain and urges national maritime administrations and ship registries to support the proposal,' said Peregrine Storrs-Fox, TT Club's risk management director, speaking at the IMO session.
   Using Clarkson's 2006 laden TEU count of 116 million, TT Club said there are about 10 million declared “dangerous” boxes with more than 130 million tons of cargo being shipped annually.
   'Of the 166 IMO member states only an average of five per year have reported on systematic inspections over the last decade, amounting to less than 0.5 percent inspection rate of only declared cargoes. This is, however, the tip of the iceberg, as we can't count the undeclared or estimate the extent of the mis-declared or badly stowed containers,' Storrs-Fox said.