TT Club and ICHCA are once more partnering with TOC Europe to present the Safety Village at the Conference and Exhibition in Rotterdam (13^th to 15^th June).  The three organisations are providing a focal point for discussions, presentations and promotion of innovations that have either already led to a safer supply chain, or aim to in the future.

Following the success of both last year’s Safety Village launch at TOC Europe and the Innovation in Safety Awards presented in February TT and ICHCA are continuing with their joint campaign to make the international supply chain a safer working environment for everyone involved in cargo handling, and more secure and sustainable for the cargoes and equipment involved in global trade.

Featuring an enlarged networking area and a stage with presentation facilities, the Safety Village will be the venue for workshops and panel sessions throughout the three days of the TOC Europe event. It will also provide opportunities for companies to showcase their innovative safety devices, processes and products. Dedicated exhibition pods for  past entrants of the safety award will be available within the Village at a discounted rate offered by TOC.  The united aim is to champion safety in the supply chain and to help develop new solutions for managing risks.

Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director at leading international freight transport insurer, TT Club comments. “It has been TT’s consistent mission to increase the levels of safety across the myriad of operational functions that constitute the global supply chain. We are delighted that our campaign has continued to attract substantial interest across the industry, again demonstrating the depth of commitment that exists to enhance safety and the will to employ significant resources to minimise risk. The prominent positioning and extensive facilities of the Safety Village at TOC Europe will help bring together such like-minded companies and individuals to further the visibility of their innovations at this leading industry forum.”

The two organisations’ ongoing efforts have highlighted numerous ground-breaking innovations with multiple applications to improve safety.  Richard Steele is CEO of ICHCA International, the representative body for cargo handling operators across the globe.  He comments, “In the recent past, our efforts together with TT have helped promulgate safety innovations including Hapag Lloyd’s Cargo Patrol that detects suspected mis-declared dangerous goods; terminal automation advances from Kunz and Yardeye in cooperation with CSX Terminals; VIKING Life-Saving’s fire suppressant systems, as well as safety devices developed by PSA International and Cargotec.”

“The awards early this year added to these with APMT’s Vessel Inspection Mobile App; Exis Technologies and Intermodal Telematics BV (IMT) innovative Tank Container Temperature Monitoring.  However there are many, many more innovative ideas are out there and we are committed to giving them the oxygen to grow.  The Safety Village at TOC in June will certainly fill the air with a fervour for safety.”

Representatives of both TT and ICHCA will be at the Safety Village for the duration of TOC Europe, and they would encourage innovators in the safety sphere to embrace the opportunities it affords.  There will be a variety of options from five-minute speaking slots to more detailed workshops.  To register interest please contact riskmanagement@ttclub.com

About ICHCA International

Established in 1952, ICHCA International is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. ICHCA’s privileged NGO status enables it to represent its members, and the cargo handling industry at large, in front of national and international agencies and regulatory bodies, while its Technical Panel provides best practice advice and develops publications on a wide range of practical cargo handling issues.

Operating through a series of national and regional chapters, including ICHCA Australia, ICHCA Japan and plus Correspondence and Working Groups, ICHCA provides a focal point for informing, educating, lobbying and networking to improve knowledge and best practice across the cargo handling chain.

www.ichca.com

About TT Club

TT Club is the established market-leading independent provider of mutual insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry. TT Club’s primary objective is to help make the industry safer and more secure. Founded in 1968, the Club has more than 1,100 Members, spanning container owners and operators, ports and terminals, and logistics companies, working across maritime, road, rail, and air. TT Club is renowned for its high-quality service, in-depth industry knowledge and enduring Member loyalty. It retains more than 93% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

www.ttclub.com

First in a series of in-depth advisory publications aimed at minimising the risks of transporting lithium-ion batteries and cells launched amid heightened concern over container fires

London, 28^th March 2023

The Lithium-ion Batteries in Containers Guidelines seek to prevent the increasing risks that the transport of lithium-ion batteries by sea creates, providing suggestions for identifying such risks and thereby helping to ensure a safer supply chain in the future.  Together with its partners, the Cargo Incident Notification System Network (CINS) has compiled a comprehensive publication covering the properties of these batteries and their potential to explode, initiate fires and emit toxic gases.

Extensive measures to safely transport what is an exponentially increasing volume of lithium-ion batteries, in their various states or charge and when also contained in electronic devices are fully examined including, classification and regulation, container packing, landside storage, stowage onboard ships, incident detection and fire suppression, and loss prevention and risk mitigation.

“We strongly urge all stakeholders in the production, supply, transport, handling and sale of lithium-ion batteries whether as individual components or integrated into an electronic device, vehicle or other product to recognise their responsibilities in maximising safety when in transit,” comments Dirk Van de Velde, who is Deputy Chair of CINS and a board member of the association of cargo handlers, ICHCA. “Our Guidelines will create greater awareness of the possibilities of the damaging and life-threatening incidents, which have already occurred, and instil more urgent motivation to act before more catastrophic disasters result.”

Intended as the first of an on-going series of publications to be updated as circumstances require this first, Lithium-ion Batteries in Containers Guidelines (101.A) provides a general overview, and will be followed by three further documents – regulatory compliance check-lists, risk assessment and emergency response, and training and educational awareness. Stakeholders in the supply chain are encouraged to implement the advice according to their specific operations and requirements but to always keep safety of life as their primary consideration.

“As our experience of transporting lithium-ion batteries widens and the technology surrounding their chemical composition, production and application rapidly evolves, risk controls and loss prevention measures need to keep pace.  The work encapsulated in these Guidelines will, of necessity, continue and be undertaken in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders to increase our knowledge and understanding of the risks posed by carriage of lithium – ion batteries in containers by sea.  This publication follows on from a very successful one day Conference held on 15^th March by the IG P&I Clubs, CINS, TT Club to bring all parties together to discuss such risks and to share knowledge and experience of carriage across the logistics supply chain” underlines Mark Smith, Loss Prevention Executive NorthStandard, International Group of P&I Clubs’ representative on the CINS LiB WG.

The document can be reviewed in full HERE

Peregrine Storrs-Fox, Risk Management Director at freight transport insurer TT Club concludes, “As the pressure on all forms of economic activity for decarbonisation increases, the use of these batteries will inevitably escalate at rates we have previously not experienced.  Air transport has been heavily restricted already and it is clear that surface modes will be called upon to transport these goods.  As an adaptable unit, the container will remain a focal point for safe transport, including for EVs alongside other vehicle carriers.  The intermodal nature of containers means more actors other than shipping lines, be they manufacturers, packers, forwarders, logistics operators, warehouses and cargo handlers must all be cognisant of the safety issues we are addressing and play their part in ensuring the risks are properly managed.”

About CINS — Cargo Incident Notification System

CINS is a shipping line initiative, launched in September 2011, to improve safety in the supply chain, reduce the number of cargo incidents on-board ships and on land, and highlight the risks caused by certain cargoes and/or packing failures. Membership of CINS comprises over 80 percent of the world’s container slot capacity, together with the Members of the International Group of P&I Clubs.

CINS provides analysis of operational information on cargo and container incidents which lead to injury or loss of life, loss or serious damage of assets, environmental concerns. Data relating to any cargo incident on-board a ship is uploaded to the CINS database. The data includes information on cargo type, nature, packaging, weight; journey (load and discharge ports); type of incident and root cause.  The Technical Advisory Committee is a CINS committee that includes Members of CINS and leading professional experts in relevant fields.

About ICHCA International

Established in 1952, ICHCA International is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the safety, productivity and efficiency of cargo handling and movement worldwide. ICHCA’s privileged NGO status enables it to represent its members, and the cargo handling industry at large, in front of national and international agencies and regulatory bodies, while its Technical Panel provides best practice advice and develops publications on a wide range of practical cargo handling issues.

Operating through a series of national and regional chapters, including ICHCA Australia, ICHCA Japan and plus Correspondence and Working Groups, ICHCA provides a focal point for informing, educating, lobbying and networking to improve knowledge and best practice across the cargo handling chain.

www.ichca.com

About the International Group 

The 12 P&I Clubs which comprise the International Group (the “Group”) between them provide marine liability cover (protection and indemnity) for approximately 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage.

Through the unique Group structure, the member Clubs, whilst individually competitive, share between them their large loss exposures, and also share their respective knowledge and expertise on matters relating to shipowners liabilities and the insurance and reinsurance of such liabilities.

Each Group Club is an independent, not-for-profit mutual insurance association, providing cover for its shipowner and charterer members against third party liabilities arising out of the use and operation of ships. Each Club is owned by its shipowner and charterer members, and its operations and activities are overseen by a board of directors, or committee, elected from the membership. The day-to-day operations of the Clubs are handled by professional managers, either “in-house” or external, who are appointed by and report to their Club board/committee.

The Clubs cover a wide range of liabilities, including loss of life and personal injury to crew, passengers and others on board, cargo loss and damage, pollution by oil and other hazardous substances, wreck removal, collision and damage to property. The Clubs also provide a wide range of services to their members including claims handling, advice on legal issues and loss prevention, and they regularly play a leading role in coordinating the response to, and management of, maritime casualties.

https://www.igpandi.org/

About TT Club

TT Club is the established market-leading independent provider of mutual insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry. TT Club’s primary objective is to help make the industry safer and more secure. Founded in 1968, the Club has more than 1,100 Members, spanning container owners and operators, ports and terminals, and logistics companies, working across maritime, road, rail, and air. TT Club is renowned for its high-quality service, in-depth industry knowledge and enduring Member loyalty. It retains more than 93% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

www.ttclub.com