At a time of container supply imbalance leading to shortages, international freight transport insurer TT Club warns against cutting corners when it comes structural integrity, cleanliness and cargo-worthiness of those that are loaded.

The responsibilities of container operators providing empty boxes and those packing them with cargo should not be forgotten in a period when such equipment is in short supply and temptations to forego security and safety measures are strong. 

Containers have numerous touch points in any given supply chain, becoming the responsibility for shorter or longer periods with a variety of stakeholders. During these unprecedented times, TT’s continued message to all parties is one of resilience and continuity of robust practices. This challenging period, for those reliant upon the container, provides an opportunity to reflect on the roles and responsibilities defined within the Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code)¹, as well as the necessary safety properties of a container and its suitability to carry its intended cargo.

Mike Yarwood, TT’s Managing Director, Loss Prevention comments, “The ripple effects of various national lockdowns, interruptions in trade and less predictable peaks and troughs in cargo volumes has resulted in severe imbalances of container equipment,” he notes. 

“Compounding the challenge, national stay and work at home policies have resulted in unexpected surges in consumer demand particularly for e-commerce goods, translating to beyond peak demand for empty containers in the dominant manufacturing centres of Asia.  These circumstances must not be allowed to lead to the widespread use of inferior container equipment or that which does not comply with industry standards.”

TT has for long promoted the use of the CTU Code but recognises its contents are lengthy and can be challenging to access.  Therefore, together with colleagues in the Cargo Integrity Group (CIG), it has made available the ‘CTU Code – A Quick Guide’² which includes a user-friendly Container Packing Check List. The Container Condition section asks the following questions:

• Is the container exterior free from soil or other visible infestation by pests?
• Is the container exterior in good condition, and not significantly distorted, cracked or bent?
• Does the container have a valid CSC Approval Plate?
• Is the container interior free from signs of damage, signs of water ingress, rust, residues, stains or debris?
• Is the container interior free from soil or other visible infestation by pests?

While imbalances, delays and restricted availability will place additional stress on all those involved in the supply chain, maintaining rigour in operations is vital. The ultimate question – is your container for purpose? – must always be answered honestly and in full.

¹Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code),

²CTU Code – A Quick Guide

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 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

The appalling events still unfolding at an anchorage off Colombo serve once more to underline the continuing problem of ship fires caused by the mishandling of dangerous goods.  TT Club again urges all those involved in the movement of such cargoes to step up to their responsibilities and to act with transparency and diligence in matters of safety in transport.  

The X-Press Pearl’s sad fate is the latest in a disappointing recent and persistent catalogue of container ship fires of varying degrees of severity, which occur on an almost weekly basis.  The vast majority of these are initiated by a cargo of a hazardous nature.  One estimate puts the number of mis- or undeclared dangerous cargoes in excess of 150,000 containers a year – each of which has disastrous potential.  While still to be fully investigated, the catalyst for the inferno on the X-Press Pearl has been asserted to be a leakage of nitric acid, which was correctly declared but apparently incorrectly packaged or packed.

TT Club has been campaigning for some time to reduce these life-threatening, cargo and ship damaging, environmentally impactful and highly costly events.  This activity includes promoting awareness and wider use of the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units – the CTU Code – and seeking changes in regulatory requirements to improve the clarity, application, implementation and enforcement of mandatory regulations, including the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.

Peregrine Storrs-Fox is TT Club’s Risk Management Director, “Effective review of regulations is to be applauded.  Indeed, the latest meeting of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee debated in detail the issue of container ship fires.  However, such consideration will not result in speedy change,” he comments.  “Holistic industry led initiatives are necessary. An understanding by all the actors in the supply chain of safe packaging, packing, loading and unloading of containers, and of the need for detailed, accurate information of the cargo’s attributes and any potentially hazardous reactions to any eventuality occurring through the entire transit, is necessary.  Above all truth, trust and transparency must guide all involved.”

TT Club organised a series of three webinars earlier this year covering all aspects of container ship fires, which looked at the whole gamut of the issue from ensuring that cargo packing, declaration and stowage are right; how the ship and its crew are able to respond to incidents when they arise, specifically in terms of firefighting capability; and to the aspects of forensic investigation and legal work leading through to the probable litigation after the event.  All three videos can be accessed HERE

Fundamental framework guidance for cargo packing is found in the CTU Code, which TT is striving to have better understood and utilised, embarking with fellow members of the established Cargo Integrity Group in producing the ‘CTU Code – Quick Guide’ and ‘Container Packing Checklist’ to enable easier reference to the Code.  Already translated and available in four of the official six UN languages, the remaining translations of the Quick Guide will be published soon.  It is currently available for download HERE in English, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin and Traditional) and Spanish.

Storrs Fox understands the extent of the task.  “It is a significant challenge to have all those responsible for the safe dispatch of general cargo to follow the CTU Code, particularly when often done on behalf of other parties and disconnected from transport risks” he comments.  “However, dangerous goods are subject to mandatory regulation. In the case of this casualty, we see another element to the problem.  The offending cargo was apparently correctly declared, with its relevant properties known, and presumably originating from an experienced shipper.  Yet for whatever reason the packaging was inappropriate or the packing and/or securing within the container was insufficient, resulting in a dangerous leakage.  While supply chains are complex and the hazards numerous, relevant knowledge and guidance are critical, within a control environment that must include effective inspection and enforcement regimes.”

ENDS

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 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

The risk of loss or damage to goods in the global supply chain has never been more prevalent. In combating the dangers, international freight insurance specialist, TT Club has launched a second series of its podcast to draw attention to the variable and complex nature of these risks and offer increased guidance on loss prevention.

TT Club is further increasing its efforts to deliver more of its long-established guidance to transport operators on managing their protection against theft and fraud. In Series 2 of its successful podcast, TT Live, risk management experts discuss current trends in criminal activity that target cargo in transit and storage. The six episodes cover such aspects of the problem as fraud, the insider threat, theft strategies, secure parking for vehicles and the targeting of depots and warehouses.

All the new episodes, along with those from Series 1, and the extensive library of written advice from TT are available as free downloads on the insurer’s specially designed Supply Chain Security webpage. TT Live is also available on Spotify, Apple, Google and many other podcast streaming services.

Mike Yarwood is TT’s Managing Director, Loss Prevention. He hosts the podcasts and comments, “The current freight transport environment features higher than normal volumes of cargo movement across all modes on land, sea and in air, as well as significant disruption to well-established routings and methods of transport. Added to these facets are increased inventories of certain goods at many locations and more sub-contracting activity, potentially employing less reliable entities. All these factors allow well-organised criminal organisations to exploit security weaknesses along the supply chain.”

Accompanying Yarwood on the podcasts is David Thompson of Signum Services*, the in-house investigative arm of TT’s managers, Thomas Miller & Co. Ltd. His career spans 30 years as a Detective with London’s Metropolitan Police and a further eight as an investigator with Signum. “Organised crime has never been so organised,” says Thompson. “Much cargo crime is perpetrated by well-oiled business-like machines that target goods that are in market demand and easily converted into cash. They are well-informed and adapt quickly to new transport trends, spotting opportunities with intelligence and resource.”

Among identified trends apparent during the recent lockdowns has been a move away from the theft of higher value, more easily traced goods, such as electronics and domestic appliances, to food and drink commodities that have had a ready market. Thieves have also noted and exploited the congestion in the supply chain that has increased the use of temporary warehousing and storage sites that are not always as secure as established premises. The second series of TT’s podcast addresses these along with a range of other risk pinch points.

Keeping ahead of, or more often, up with the variable modus operandi that criminal organisations employ, and combating the threats to cargo assets they enable, are major tasks and are the challenges that TT Club’s loss prevention resources are posed to face through increased awareness and guidance on protective action.

*Signum Services

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 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