Transport communications

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TT Club

TT Club signs up to the Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative

Specialist international freight transport insurer TT Club has committed to the UN’s initiative designed to unite the global insurance sector’s efforts to achieve sustainability and improve the health of the planet.

Through Transport Mutual Insurance Association Limited (TT Club) is acutely aware of the requirements of all enterprises to take responsibility for achieving a sustainable future for the natural environment and to go further by adhering to the wider environmental, social and governance (ESG) aims. By applying the principles of this United Nations’ initiative, TT Club is underlining its commitment in a way that is relevant to its global risk management and insurance operations.

The Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) is global framework for the insurance industry to address ESG risks and opportunities launched in 2012 by the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI). It is a global, collaborative initiative that strengthens the industry’s contribution as risk managers, insurers and investors to building resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities and economies on a healthy planet.

Commenting on the news that TT Club has been accepted as a PSI signatory, Charles Fenton, CEO said, “As a mutual insurer our overarching purpose is to make the international transport and logistics industry safer, more secure and as a result, more sustainable. We see the challenges our Members face to tackle sustainability head on and work hard to support them wherever we can. The Principles for Sustainable Insurance align with the Club’s approach in servicing its Members and we look forward to working with other like-minded organisations towards this common goal.”

The insurance industry is particularly well-placed to effect the advance of sustainability policies as it performs a triple role, as risk managers, risk carriers and investors. Insurers therefore can be particularly influential in fostering sustainable economic and social development.

The PSI is the largest collaboration between the insurance industry and the United Nations with over 220 members from all around the world. Ban Ki-Moon, ex-Secretary General of the UN supports the PSI initiative, “The Principles of Sustainable Insurance provide a global roadmap to develop and expand innovative risk management and insurance solutions. With a world premium volume of more than US$24 trillion, insurers that embed sustainability in their business operations can catalyse the kinds of financial and investment flows and long-term perspectives needed for sustainable development.”

TT Club will embrace the guidance provided by the PSI by embedding the issues of ESG in its decision-making; work with its members and business partners in extending awareness of such issues; demonstrate accountability and transparency in reporting its progress and work together with regulators and other stakeholders to promote widespread action on ESG issues.

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 1100 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 97% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

https://www.ttclub.com

The Cargo Integrity Group of Seven Updates its Container Safety Guidance

The need for increased integrity in the global supply chain persists. The Cargo Integrity Group has updated its Quick Guide to the CTU Code and once more urges all involved in intermodal container transport to pay heed.

The multi-faceted group of originally five, now seven industry organisations, produced a Quick Guide to the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code) some two years ago.  The Quick Guide is designed to assist those responsible for packing containers and accurately declaring details of their contents to abide by the often-complex regulations contained in the voluminous CTU Code itself.  There is also a useful Checklist of actions required by packers and shippers of containers. 

The Group believes that awareness of the CTU Code is pivotal to achieving safe and secure transport and has followed up the Quick Guide’s publication with provision of its full text in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Italian.  An update has now been made available, taking account of feedback, and is downloadable for free HERE

FIATA Director General Stéphane Graber commented, “Providing individuals responsible for packing containers, and in some cases for preparing documentation and declarations, with easier access to all-important safety guidelines in their own language, is key in order to make available practical cutting edge knowledge of packing. Such information goes beyond maritime operations, reflecting  the complexities of intermodal transport in modern day supply chains, and is key to keeping cargo logistics running efficiently.”

Failure to follow the CTU Code advice puts the people who keep the supply chain moving at risk, leading to incidents and accidents that are still all too common. The Group believes that such tragedies in the supply chain are to be avoided – most vividly demonstrated by the too frequent occurrence of container ship fires – higher standards of cargo integrity.

“We are providing clearer guidance through our revised Quick Guide and Checklist to help those responsible for packing cargo transport units, and in particular intermodal containers, to understand the standards expected in international trade,” stated James Hookham, Director of Global Shippers Forum.  “The revised editions recognise the endorsement of all the partner organisations now active in the Cargo Integrity Group and their joint commitment to dissemination of this advice to their respective memberships and wider networks,” he concluded.

Winners of the Young Logistics Professional Award announced at the FIATA World Congress, Busan

Busan/London, 16 September 2022- FIATA, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations and TT Club, international freight transport insurer, are very pleased to reveal this year’s global winner of the Young Logistics Professionals Award (YLP) at the 59th, and 2022 FIATA World Congress in Busan, Republic of Korea.

FIATA and TT Club are delighted to announce that Karina Perez Perez, the regional winner of Region Americas, representing the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, CIFFA, has been awarded the title of Young Logistics Professional of 2022.    “TT Club is inordinately proud of sponsoring this award since it was established as the Young Freight Forwarder of the Year over twenty years ago.  Its importance as an inspiration to our budding professionals is even more relevant today as the global logistics industry faces ever growing and varied challenges.  So fitting therefore, that the winner, who I heartily congratulate, Karina Perez Perez submitted a dissertation detailing her work in assessing the tools the industry is developing to enhance operator’s performance in the crucial area of sustainability. TT believes that the logistics sector’s ability to attract vital new talent to its ranks is greatly improved by a stronger commitment to environmental issues that are so concerning to those younger generations around the world,” said Michael Yarwood, TT Club’s Managing Director, Loss Prevention.

FIATA and TT Club extend their congratulations to the three other dedicated, ambitious and very impressive young professionals who made it to the final stage of the competition: Regional Asia Pacific Winner,  Avishkar Srivastava, Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI), India;  Region Africa and Middle East Ruvimbo Gukwe, Shipping and Forwarders Agents Association of Zimbabwe (SFAAZ), Zimbabwe; Region Europe Winner Maximilian Drüschler, Bundesverband Spedition und Logistik (DSLV), Germany (Region Europe Winner).  All finalists showed exceptional skill and motivation during the competition, which all resulted in high quality work. These young professionals stand as an example, and are a true source of inspiration for the industry.  

FIATA President, Ivan Petrov shared “This competition is extremely valuable to our field because young people are the future of the industry. They will be the ones to shape the image of the logistics industry, its importance, its worth, its power and the opportunities that come with it. Attracting and promoting young people in the freight forwarding industry is one of the top priorities on FIATA’s agenda, and we are honoured to meet young logistics professionals, who we can also learn from, while likewise providing them with important tools and guidance for their careers. FIATA acts as the bridge between successful and recognised freight forwarders and young promising talents.”

The industry faces increasing difficulty to find talented, and motivated candidates, with workforce issues being amongst the top obstacles for logistics companies. The goal of this Award competition is to motivate, inspire and search for high calibre, quality young professionals to be a leading light for others to be inspired by, and to show that excellence brings the career potential of these young people to another level. Candidates can grow their network, develop new skills, learn more about the sector and what it entails, and gain exposure within the global freight forwarding community. FIATA and TT Club strongly encourage young logistics professionals, with the essential support of their FIATA national association, to join this exciting venture.

Additionally, the Congress this year saw the first ever full-day programme for young logisticians, with a dedicated programme allowing young professionals to hear from experts, educators and mentors in the logistics sector. This was an important endeavour for FIATA, who continually strives to shine a light on the next generation and attract a young audience to the freight forwarding community.

About FIATA

FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations is a nongovernmental, membership-based organization representing freight forwarders in some 150 countries. FIATA’s membership is composed of 113 Associations Members and more than 5,500 Individual Members, overall representing an industry of 40,000 freight forwarding and logistics firms worldwide. Based in Geneva, FIATA is ‘the global voice of freight logistics’. https://fiata.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

Workplace fatalities – height is the issue

Falls from height remain one of the biggest causes of injury and fatalities in the workplace.  The distance of the drop need not always be as great as imagined to cause harm. Freight transport liability insurer, TT Club is debunking some common perceptions, offering advice on risk mitigation.

The insurer refers to a ‘seven-step’ checklist to assist operators in perfecting a safer work environment but emphasises that awareness of the issue and causation is a critical initial approach to the danger.

UK regulations stipulate that ‘working at height’ is defined as any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. While in the US it is required that fall protection be provided at elevations of four feet in general industry workplaces, five feet in shipyards, six feet in the construction industry and eight feet in longshoring operations.

Typically, in the international context there is no specific minimum height above which regulations apply and each jurisdiction has its own requirements. Similarly, the need for fall protection equipment varies.  Operators across the supply chain therefore need to be familiar with varied local regulations in every location at which they have employees.

“Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatality and major injury in the workplace. The common perception is that these relate to falls from ladders or through fragile surfaces, where workers are far from the surface below. This is not always the case,” comments Mike Yarwood, TT’s Managing Director, Loss Prevention. “It might come as a shock to learn that a man died falling just a meter and a half from within a standard shipping container sited on a road trailer.”

The deceased worker was inside an open top container preparing access for an overhead crane to remove the cargo of steel girders.  He fell from the container because the rear doors of the unit were open. Although the company had various generic risk assessments and safe working method statements, it had not put in place simple control measures to prevent or mitigate a fall from the rear of this container. The tragedy could have been averted.

“A court fined the company £200,000 (US$23,600) plus costs,” Yarwood “But the penalty could have been far greater and potentially unlimited. The case highlights a key issue – many haulage firms and warehouse operations may not view work at the back of an open trailer or container on wheels as a ‘working at height’ activity.”

As protecting the workforce must be a priority, TT has summarised a seven-step course of action to help*

  • Conduct a working at height risk assessment
  • Implement working at height training
  • Invest in personal protective equipment (PPE) for working at height
  • Complete safety equipment maintenance
  • Implement a personal safety system
  • Update and review your procedures
  • Record everything

“As with all risk mitigation, awareness of the dangers is the primary necessity,” concludes Yarwood. “After that a common-sense approach is the best — where work at height cannot be easily avoided, take action to prevent falls with guard rails etc. Where risk cannot be eliminated, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall and train staff well to make them aware of the dangers.”

*Full details of the seven steps can be accessed here.

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 1100 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 97% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

https://www.ttclub.com

TT Club Innovation in Safety Award 2022 Opens for Entries

Following the successful re-introduction of the Award in 2021 with its record number of entries, the 2022 award will form the centrepiece of TT Club and ICHCA’s on-going efforts to encourage players in the freight transport and cargo handling sectors further in continuing to improve operational safety and efficiency through innovation.

ICHCA International, the global cargo handling association, launched the 2022 TT Club Innovation in Safety Award today inviting entrants to submit details of their innovations by 11 November 2022. The Award, which is open to an individual, team or company involved in cargo logistics, has seen the prestige associated with winning or being highly commended, grow year-on-year. Past winners have ranged from individual entrepreneurs and specialist suppliers to employee teams in major industry businesses. Entrants are required to show that a product, idea, solution, process, scheme or other innovation has resulted in a demonstrable improvement in safety.

Details of how to submit entries and of the judging criteria can be found here.

Both ICHCA and TT Club have a fundamental commitment to risk reduction throughout the entire freight supply chain. Promoting safety advice and good practices is paramount to the philosophy of the two organisations and the Award reflects this commitment. As such, the Award and the consequent profiling of the innovations put forward by its enthusiastic entrants, is central to the two organisations’ efforts to support continuous improvement in safety. They will continue to provide opportunities to showcase winners and other entrants, organising Safety Villages at industry forums and other live or virtual events. The range of the safety information and guidance documents these two organisations produce, from white papers to webinars and from advisories to checklists, can be found on their individual websites.

TT’s Risk Management Director Peregrine Storrs-Fox has been a supporter of the Award since its inception in 2016, “In TT’s role as a specialist provider of insurance products and risk management services to the supply chain industry, we have always emphasised the critical nature of loss prevention. Encouraging safety awareness and advising on effective risk mitigation is core to the Club’s business ethos,” he says.

“TT is therefore proud to have worked closely with ICHCA for a number of years, both in presenting this Award and urging all parties from the IMO and national governments to transport companies, intermediaries and cargo packers, storage facilities and handlers to adopt and constantly improve good practice systems and procedures. We look forward to celebrating the wealth of safety innovation that will once more be attracted by this Award.”

In past years, submissions to the Award programme have ranged in focus from bulk cargo handling to securing containers and their cargoes; from safety reporting and education to the correct handling of dangerous materials; from environmental monitoring to fire detection and suppression. The 2021 Award went to VIKING Life-Saving Equipment A/S for its HydroPen system designed to fight onboard container fires. HydroPen has recently secured a major contract to supply the entire Maersk fleet, gaining traction to deliver global ship safety.

Those highly commended in this latest Award included PSA International for its video analytics solution to prevent in-terminal collisions and Cargotec’s innovation to inspect containers from below, effectively and safely identifying any damage and ensuring they are free of any invasive pests.

Richard Steele, ICHCA’s CEO comments, “A massive benefit of the Award is that we make the innovative work carried out by the organisations that enter, available to others. Working together with our partner TT, we strive to achieve this through publishing a Digest of all the entries and helping the innovators to disseminate their knowledge through webinars and Safety Villages at industry exhibitions.”

“At ICHCA we believe that safety is the partner of efficiency, not its opposite.  A well-run safety-conscious organisation is an efficient and sustainable organisation. Accidents cost lives, money and reputation. We challenge ourselves and our industry to move safely forward. We are proud of the innovation our industry has achieved and we wish to celebrate those achievements into the future.”

The Award ceremony will take place in February 2023 where the winners will be announced, those shortlisted will present their entries and innovation will be celebrated once more.

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 1100 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 97% 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

TT Club briefings pinpoint warehouse safety in graphic detail

Current supply chain focus is predominantly on cargoes on the move, however safety concerns at the multiple locations where goods are ‘at rest’, either at the interfaces between different modes or in longer term storage, are just as critical.

The international freight transport insurer TT Club has turned its attention to the safety risks at cargo storage facilities.  Some of these can lead to catastrophic incidents, though less startling events, together with near misses are more common in a congested supply chain world. Together these may have the potential to be just as damaging and disruptive.  In continuing its mission to mitigate such risks, TT has issued a new warehousing series of its graphic TT Briefs.

As per the example below, TT Briefs are designed to convey risk management advice succinctly in easily digestible form for operators to download* and utilise both in the workplace and throughout their organisations. In the case of the warehouse series, five crucial topics are addressed:

  • Choosing a storage warehouse
  • Operating a safe warehouse
  • Mitigating flood risk
  • Preventing warehouse fires
  • Operating a secure warehouse

“Whether located in port areas or inland, warehouses are a fundamental component of the global supply chain and arguably, they have become increasingly important nodes, as just in time supply chain models are being adjusted with a more conservative approach to longer-term inventory storage,” comments Mike Yarwood, TT’s MD of Loss Prevention. “We are keen to increase awareness of all key risks, however our role at TT is also to guide operators in the prevention of incidents. Our TT Brief series seeks to provide pithy messaging to support toolbox talks and good operational practices.”

Safety precautions begin with practical considerations for establishing a warehouse. These inevitably relate to location, size, availability of labour etc., but the first and most important decision will be whether to own or lease the property. There are considerable differences in responsibilities and liabilities and these must be fully understood to mitigate risk.

While there are more obvious physical measures such as perimeter fences, CCTV and barriers, effective security measures also include procedural aspects such as ensuring due diligence when hiring personnel.  A consideration of growing importance is that of climate change, risk of exposure to weather related losses and likelihood of flooding. A less obvious consideration might be the activities of adjacent facilities, including potential contamination risks from incompatible cargoes.

Perhaps the most significant in terms risk to life, damage and cost of claims, is fire. The primary causes of warehouse fires include electrical failures or malfunction, hot works, maintenance related issues and poor enforcement of no smoking policies. “As with much of our advice on loss prevention, preparation and planning are crucial,” says Yarwood. “Periodic risk assessment, effective maintenance and training, enforcement of policy and good housekeeping are all key as the TT Briefs highlight.”

* www.ttclub.com/loss-prevention/warehouse-risks

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 1100 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 97% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

https://www.ttclub.com

TT Club announces new CFO appointment

With effect from 1 August 2022, EeLain Ong has taken over as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of international freight transport and logistics insurer TT Club. Appointed in April 2022, Ong has shadowed the outgoing CFO Julian Chowdhury in his position for the intervening months prior to his retirement.

As CFO of the well-established specialist mutual insurer, Ong’s challenges will be to achieve business plan profit targets via operational efficiencies focussed on simplifying and automating processes along the insurance value chain.

In making the announcement Charles Fenton, CEO of TT Club comments, “TT is fortunate to have in EeLain someone of vast and varied experience so suited to the Club’s structure and nature of its business. Over her 27 year career she has held leadership positions within finance, treasury and tax at re/insurance companies, captives, mutuals, start-ups and Lloyd’s syndicates, and across multiple jurisdictions globally. She replaces a true professional in Chowdhury, who we thank for his long and tireless service of almost 30 years. We wish him a happy and fulfilling retirement.”

Ong is a graduate of Hull University and a Chartered Accountant (FCA). In addition to roles at re/insurance providers, she also had experiences as a regulator,  an auditor, and an M&A corporate financier – all of which has exposed her to structuring finite, legacy and traditional risk transfer deals within the realms of financial governance.

“I see the strength of TT as a reliable and expert risk management provider for organisations in the global supply chain sector which is continually undergoing disruption.  My role in part will be to help maintain TT’s agility to adapt to this changing trade environment, yet remain consistent in delivering renown service and claims efficiency,” says Ong.

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 1400 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 97% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

https://www.ttclub.com

TT Club eager to make pest control workshop a collaborative success

Seaborne invasive pests have potentially devastating consequences for agriculture and the natural environment.  TT Club believes all involved in intermodal cargo movements need to be aware of their responsibilities to tighten biosecurity. An IPPC* Workshop, free to all interested parties takes place in London (19-20 September).   Industry representatives must register by 31st July

London, 21st July 2022

TT Club recognises the vital importance of focussing on the threat of invasive pests to natural resources across the world, and of the urgency in crafting effective and proportionate risk reduction measures that address the situation.  The freight transport insurer is issuing a call for action, encouraging those involved in the intermodal supply chain in whatever capacity to help guide international regulators and create pragmatic working practices to minimise the dangers while allowing international trade to continue to flow.

“Industry players of all types have a great opportunity to be part of responsible efforts to mitigate the serious concerns over possible infestation via contaminated seaborne intermodal freight vectors,” comments TT’s Peregrine Storrs-Fox. “ The International workshop on reducing the introduction of pests through the sea container pathway’, being held over two days in London in September, could be a significant part of that opportunity.  We would encourage as many of those involved in the packing, transporting, handling and providing containers for export to attend.  Your registration is required urgently by 31st July.”

The workshop will take place from 19 to 20 September 2022, at Queen Elizabeth II Centre, London, United Kingdom. Participation is free of charge. Register HERE

The efficient movement of sea containers through a complex and time-sensitive global supply chain involves over 240 million container moves each year.  Clearly, any regulatory requirements that might further add to these complexities could have negative consequences beyond any benefits to pest control.  Therefore over the last several years, the IPPC and partners have been working together to examine practical measures to restrict dangerous pest transfers via the container trades.

The Sea Container Task Force (SCTF) was established to collect existing data from countries, and consider the issue.  Its report was concluded at the beginning of this year and this workshop is the next step in discussing the recommendations it made.

“Detail of the Workshop’s objectives and expected outcomes are outlined on the IPPC website as indicated above, however it is hoped, above all that the proposed measures enjoy a full airing and undergo comprehensive debate,” comments Storrs-Fox.  “It is vital that all involved, such as container lines, container manufacturers, freight forwarders, packers, shippers (both exporters and importers), port authorities and terminal operators are consulted.”

Any targeted measures that come into force via international regulations need to be effective in dealing with the issue of pest contamination of both containers and their cargoes, but they should do so in a way that achieves risk reduction with minimal impact on container logistics.

*The international Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an international convention, signed by over 180 countries and governed by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, part of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).  

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 1100 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 97% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more.

https://www.ttclub.com

Names of the Young Logistics Professionals Award 2022’s regional winners finally released!

FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations and TT Club, international freight transport insurer, reveal this year’s regional winners of the Young Logistics Professionals (YLP) Award 2022.

Geneva and London, 20 July 2022

The 2022 regional winners are:

  • Region Africa and Middle East: Ruvimbo Gukwe, SFAAZ, Zimbabwe : Dissertation: Growth by COVID
  • Region Americas: Karina Daniela Perez Perez, CIFFA, Canada : Dissertation: Resilient Solutions: The Future of Freight Forwarding and Logistics
  • Region Asia-Pacific: Avishkar Srivastava, FFFAI, India : Dissertation: Sustainability through efficiency Decarbonising trade lanes through sustainable logistics
  • Region Europe: Maximilian Druschler, DSLV, Germany :
    Dissertation: Logistics’ crucial role in the battle against the UN Global Issues

FIATA Director General, Dr Stéphane Graber, shared his congratulations to the four regional winners: “The YLP Award is of outmost importance for FIATA. It aims at developing the youth’s interest in the industry but also the soft skills that are crucial in the daily work of our demanding sector. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to all the YLP Award 2022 candidates and most particularly to the four regional winners for their impressive dissertations. They have managed to put into words complex processes of the global supply chain while taking into account diverse parameters. The future of logistics is in the youth’s hands, and I could not be more proud.”

“All four regions were represented by a variety of impressive entries and the judges were struck by the high incidence of projects requiring close consideration of environmental factors and prioritising sustainability. Multimodal solutions were to the fore and in addition to medical supplies, cargoes featured included insecticides, rail tracks, military ordinance, drilling rods and a satellite. We never tire of reading about the innovative approaches to logistical challenges employed by our young professionals.  TT Club as ever is both proud and encouraged by the high levels of competence portrayed throughout the sector and is committed to maintaining its long-lasting support for the awards.” says Mike Yarwood, Managing Director Loss Prevention, TT Club and Chair of the Panel of Judges.

Both FIATA and TT Club are thrilled to continue recognising the inspirational and dynamic minds of the young logistics professionals’ community. As we slowly move away from the pandemic, FIATA and TT Club are looking forward to returning to the physical competition format. This year and if the conditions allow, the four regional winners will present their dissertations at the FIATA World Congress in Busan, South Korea, during a dedicated session with the final judging and announcement of the YLP Global Winner 2022. This will be a wonderful opportunity for the regional winners to fully immerse themselves in the freight forwarding community and meet their counterparts in Korea’s marine capital city. Stay tuned!

About FIATA

FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations is a nongovernmental, membership-based organization representing freight forwarders in some 150 countries. FIATA’s membership is composed of 111 Associations Members and more than 5,500 Individual Members, overall representing an industry of 40,000 freight forwarding and logistics firms worldwide. Based in Geneva, FIATA is ‘the global voice of freight logistics’ www.fiata.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 1100 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 97% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more. https://www.ttclub.com

TT Club urges IMO Member States to increase container and cargo inspections and submit reports urgently

Past reporting of inspections carried out has been sparse.  In welcoming the IMO’s revised guidelines for inspections, the international freight transport insurer TT Club exhorts governments to report findings to IMO on 2021 inspections, as well as to increase the volume of inspections carried out.  This would helpfully inform the international maritime regulator and support industry players who are striving to ensure safety and reduce dangerous incidents.

Revised Guidelines for the Implementation of the Inspection of Cargo Transport Units (CTUs)* issued last month by the IMO are aimed at helping governments to implement a uniform and safe inspection programme.  The IMO Circular (MSC.1/Circ.1649) seeks to broaden the inspections undertaken and align fully with safety guidance developed during the last decade (previous guidelines date from 2012).

Specifically, governments are now requested to select from all cargo types, rather than simply declared dangerous goods, for inspection. Further the guidance takes account of the issuance of the CTU Code¹, revisions of container safety regulations and the need to minimise the movement of invasive pests. The Circular additionally notes the continuing low rate submission of inspection reports and encourages an increase in such inspections.

Peregrine Storrs-Fox is TT’s Risk Management Director, “With the string of container ship fire casualties and fatal incidents at storage facilities, most recently at Chittagong (Chattogram), in our minds, our current concerns are manifest. They constantly remind us of the importance of adequate safety procedures in packing, handling and transporting the array of cargoes that have the potential to cause catastrophic incidents,” he states.

“With only five of the 179 governments affiliated with IMO submitting reports on inspections at the last Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC) sub-committee meeting in September 2021, the industry urgently seeks more collaborative support from governments in combatting the potential circumstances and cargo packing practices that cause dangerous incidents.  It would be much appreciated if more national reports undertaken during 2021 can still be reported for consideration at the next CCC this September.  However, TT calls for a viable sample of inspections in future based on the new guidelines. In this regard, TT would urge strongly that governments enter dialogue with industry to understand how the latter can work with enforcement agencies to improve safety.”

TT itself has long campaigned for an increased awareness of the issues surrounding the transport of dangerous goods, and all potentially hazardous cargoes.  It is dedicated to improving standards for the safe and secure packing of all cargoes in cargo transport units.

There is a plethora of industry generated guidance on best practice relating to packing and handling of cargoes, including the Quick Guide to the CTU Code, along with a Checklist of actions required of those packing cargo in freight containers, published by the Cargo Integrity Group and available in several languages².

Such work by industry groups can only be strengthened by a partnership with governments.  Their action on inspections, with the help of the new revisions to the IMO guidelines and use of that body’s reporting system is crucial.

Storrs-Fox concludes, “The international supply chains that service the trade in a myriad of commodities are complex and notoriously susceptible to disruption.  Congestion and delays increase the challenges involved in maintaining safety levels in an environment where the demand for reliable delivery of goods is high.  Such circumstances require an even higher level of attention to safe practices.  The collection of information on the effective use and/or mis-use of these practices needs to be enhanced by a much higher level of rigorous inspections and report submissions from governments, but working from the understanding that this is a shared problem.”

*https://www.ttclub.com/media/files/tt-club/msc.1-circ.1649-guidelines-for-the-implementation-of-the-inspection-programmes-for-cargo-transport-units.pdf

¹ IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of practice for packing cargo transport units (CTU Code) https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/doc/2014/itc/id_07_CTU_Code_January_2014.pdf

² https:/ /www.ttclub.com/news-and-resources/publications/ctu-code-a-quick-guide

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