Speaking at the TOC Container Supply Chain Conference in Rotterdam last week, freight insurance specialist TT Club’s Kevin King called for all parties to take responsibility for minimising the risks inherent in container freight transportation.

London 16 June 2015

As a leading provider of liability, property and cargo insurance to the global freight industry, TT Club has long championed a variety of measures designed to increase safety throughout the container supply chain.  In Rotterdam last week, Kevin King, the Club’s Regional Director EMEA took the opportunity to address an audience of container operators, port and terminal executives and logistics professionals to highlight the crucial importance of an  under lying principle of best practice, which would improve the industry’s safety record.

Kevin King, Regional Director EMEA, TT Club

“As articulated in the UK MAIB’s report into the loss of MSC Napoli, safety margins are being eroded or eliminated,” said King.  “In the context of international trade, all should take up their responsibilities and perhaps abide by the legal doctrine known as ‘utmost good faith’, meaning that all parties must make a full declaration of the material facts.”

King’s speech detailed the issues that impinge on container safety and that are currently being addressed in various ways by regulatory bodies and the industry as a whole.  The Code of Practice for Packing Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code), which was prepared by three UN bodies (ILO/IMO/UNECE) and approved by the IMO at the end of last year, provides guidelines for all aspects of loading and securing CTUs (including trailers, swap bodies and railcars as well as containers).  Although the Code doesn’t have the force of law at this point it can be brought into litigation as describing industry good practice.  “Once a unit is packed there is less scope to correct things,” highlighted King.

Details within the SOLAS Convention (Safety of Life at Sea) concerning verification of gross mass for containers has now been adopted and will become mandatory in July 2016. This relatively modest amendment in essence reiterates the shippers’ responsibility to declare gross mass accurately.  King also pointed out, “It is to be noted that if the ship or terminal loads a container without having required a verified gross mass, they assume the liability in addition to the shipper.”

Additionally, King spoke of the ISO standards to which container manufacturing and maintenance integrity must be adhered and further advised that there is on-going work relating to the design and operation of twistlocks, as well as other ship lashing equipment.

He concluded, “Bringing all issues together concerning the interactions between ship, lashing, container and cargo are vital for safety and profitability in the maritime supply chain and help enhance the understanding of the responsibilities held by all parties in that supply chain.  Whatever is in the ‘box’, how it has been placed there and how it is handled on its journey is so much a matter of trust – each party must act with utmost good faith.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

TT Club

TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services.  As a mutual insurer, TT Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

Customers include some of the world’s largest shipping lines, busiest ports, biggest freight forwarders and cargo handling terminals, to companies operating on a smaller scale but whose operations face similar risks. TT Club specialises in the insurance of Intermodal Operators, NVOCs, Freight Forwarders, Logistics Operators, Marine Terminals, Stevedores, Port Authorities and Ship Operators.

www.ttclub.com

About Thomas Miller

Thomas Miller is an independent and international provider of insurance, professional and investment services.

Founded in 1885, Thomas Miller’s origins are in the provision of management services to mutual organisations, particularly in the international transport and professional indemnity sectors; where today they manage a large percentage of the foremost insurance mutuals. Thomas Miller also manages insurance facilities for all the self-employed barristers in England & Wales, as well as trustees of pension schemes, patent agents and housing associations.

Principal activities include:

• Management services for transport and professional indemnity insurance mutuals
• Investment management for institutions and private clients
• Professional services
• Building defects insurance

www.thomasmiller.com

Speaking at the Trans Middle East Conference in Doha, Qatar last month, Julien Horn, TT Club’s Middle East Regional Executive and Director of TTMS (Gulf), the Network Partner based in Dubai, lay particular emphasis on the role human error plays in creating damaging incidents at cargo handling terminals and other facilities. 

London & Dubai, 11 June 2015

According to TT Club’s analysis some 82% of accidents in the port and terminal sector can be attributed to human error.  The Club strongly urges counter measures, particularly professional training and the installation of safety technology, to combat these risks.

TT Club’s research, covering over 9,500 claims of a value in excess of US$10,000 made over the last seven years, and totally over US$425 million, provides compelling data that pinpoints the areas of concern.  Of claims resulting from operational incidents for example, 20% involved lift-trucks, 18% quay cranes and another 18% yard cranes or straddle carriers.  This analysis in itself can guide operators in where best to concentrate their risk planning. However it is on the root causes of accidents that TT Club urges attention to be made.

“The prime concern is one of culture,” declared Horn, “There must be a ‘safety first’ running through the work ethic of all terminal personnel throughout the Middle East, and indeed the world as whole.”  Through a detailed examination of it historical claims, TT Club has found numerous examples of a lacking in safety awareness among terminal personnel.  This ranges from, little understanding of areas in which lifting machinery operates and from straying into prohibited sectors in vehicles or on foot, to wrongly identified weights or cargoes in containers.

Preventative measures are numerous and many are specific to the type and nature of the equipment operated in individual facilities.  Such measures may include quay crane boom anti-collision devices and adequate crane braking systems, regular equipment maintenance regimes, fire prevention systems, adoption of best practice in packing and handling of cargo, and appropriate processing of dangerous goods.

Horn returned to the human aspect, “We often hear descriptions of incidents as, ‘a freak accident’ or ‘just bad luck’. Inevitably, however it is a preventable humanaction that is the cause of these ‘one in a million’ chance occurrences”.  He concluded, “Good, consistent and diligent training regimes are clearly a fundamental building block in eradicating incidents that can result in serious bodily injury and sadly, in some cases, death. But at the heart of a successful risk management policy is the attitude that safety is everyone’s responsibility.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

TT Club

TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services.  As a mutual insurer, TT Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

Customers include some of the world’s largest shipping lines, busiest ports, biggest freight forwarders and cargo handling terminals, to companies operating on a smaller scale but whose operations face similar risks. TT Club specialises in the insurance of Intermodal Operators, NVOCs, Freight Forwarders, Logistics Operators, Marine Terminals, Stevedores, Port Authorities and Ship Operators.

www.ttclub.com

About Thomas Miller

Thomas Miller is an independent and international provider of insurance, professional and investment services.

Founded in 1885, Thomas Miller’s origins are in the provision of management services to mutual organisations, particularly in the international transport and professional indemnity sectors; where today they manage a large percentage of the foremost insurance mutuals. Thomas Miller also manages insurance facilities for all the self-employed barristers in England & Wales, as well as trustees of pension schemes, patent agents and housing associations.

Principal activities include:

• Management services for transport and professional indemnity insurance mutuals
• Investment management for institutions and private clients
• Professional services
• Building defects insurance

www.thomasmiller.com