Mandatory standards sought as new report identifies China as major weak spot

MARITIME unions are seeking mandatory industry standards to prevent poorly secured or overweight maritime containers that can kill or injure dockworkers or seafarers.

The call came as a new report on container packing from the International Labour Organisation suggests that China is one of the greatest threats to supply chain safety.

A forum on the safe packing of containers will take place next week in Geneva under the auspices of the ILO, bringing together representatives from the government, employers’ organisations and trade unions.

The International Transport Workers Federation, representing dockers among other port staff, believes that the voluntary measures in place and the best practice approach “have not solved the problem in a satisfactory way”, and it wants to see “international mandatory instruments” developed.

The regulations would, says the ITF: “Guarantee that all those involved in the transport and handling of containers are fully informed of the actual weight, state of packing, stowage, lashing and securing of the cargo including the eccentricity of the centre of gravity of the loaded container and the possible existence of toxic fumigants and vapours or existence of dangerous substances in the container.”

The demand for better monitoring of maritime container safety standards is gathering momentum.

In December 2010, the World Shipping Council, representing the major container lines, and the International Chamber of Shipping called for the compulsory weighing of all containers prior to loading. The groups are also lobbying the International Maritime Organization for an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea convention.

The ILO report, to be discussed in Geneva, states: “The use of containers continues to grow – and a greater proportion of them than ever is carrying cargoes from China to the US and Europe.

“The majority of these containers are from established shippers with sophisticated despatch facilities, who understand the stresses and forces to which containers are subjected throughout the supply chain.

“However, there is evidence of shipments where the cargo has not been properly secured, implying an increased risk of incidents that might result in the injury or death of supply chain operators or serious damage to the infrastructure.”

The 108-page ILO report says that China, while being a major exporter, is not the only country to “transgress in the area of poorly secured cargo”.

But it adds that the huge geographical size of China and the “disparate shipping locations” mean that it “constitutes one of the greatest threats to supply chain safety”.

It adds: “Ways should be sought to capture these remote players and ensure that they fully adopt the good practice guidelines.”

In order to verify improvements in packing effectiveness, the ILO report says that there must be a means to quantify the scope of accidents to containers that are caused or made worse by improperly secured cargo.

The ILO report states: “This database of information could be managed by one of the major stakeholders, or by an independent organization on behalf of all the stakeholders.

“Those managing the database should be able to provide a totally confidential service, available to all parties from all modes of transport, and to receive reports from throughout the world.”

FROM FAIRPLAY DAILY NEWS:

***Boskalis and unions brawl over Gorgon

THE HOLING of a utility vessel working on Chevron’s A$43Bn ($43.12Bn) Gorgon gas project in Western Australia has further stressed relations between unions and contractors.

Royal Boskalis Westminster’s Damen Multicat BKM 102 sustained a 5m gash after striking a dredging anchor off Barrow Island on 6 February.

The vessel was beached to prevent it from sinking, but the Maritime Union of Australia said Boskalis then ordered it to take a 150km trip to Dampier for repairs, even though it was “leaking oil and rubbish everywhere on a pristine nature reserve”.

After a 22-hour pump-out, BKM 102 was towed to Karratha, where it is now under repair. Chevron said all emergency response procedures were activated to secure the vessel and contain its fuel.

A state government investigation into the incident is under way.

The MUA has been at odds with Boskalis over a number of incidents at the Gorgon site. These include the holing of the accommodation vessel Finnmarken on 10 August last year, when it was repeatedly struck by a mooring barge during a storm, and the discovery in December that certificates for a crane barge and other equipment had long expired.

“This is yet another example of a multibillion-dollar project employing cowboys on the cheap and putting lives and the environment at risk,” ITF president and MUA secretary Paddy Crumlin said.

Late last week, Chevron announced its tenth offshore West Australian gas discovery in 18 months, this time in the Orthrus deepwater field 100km northwest of Barrow Island.