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

Recent changes to regulations in Russian law now make it possible for forwarders and road hauliers to access full liability cover, similar to that enjoyed by those in the global supply chain. However, most insurance products on the market don’t offer comprehensive protection. Executives from Panditrans, TT Club’s Network Partner in Russia, have outlined the improved regulatory situation but emphasized the inferiority of the cover available in the market. Valuable risk management advice on temperature controlled and tank container cargoes was also presented at the recent TransRussia trade show in Moscow.

Moscow & London, 17^th May, 2021

After five years of pressure from the Russian freight forwarding and transport community comprehensive freight liability cover is now possible, as officially confirmed by the applicable transport laws. Sadly, local insurers have not responded by changing the terms of their very restricted policies that continue to deny valid claims in many circumstances. TT Club’s Network Partners in Russia is strongly urging forwarders, and road hauliers, in particular to increase their demands on insurers for better, all-inclusive insurance cover.

In his lecture at the TransRussia event last month, Alexander Petrenko of Panditrans drew attention to the shortcomings of the policies that are still on offer in the market despite the regulatory change. “Operators are still opting to buy cheaper forms of protection,” he stated, going on to provide a range of examples of such policy restrictions. “We see cover that has just a few named risks, such as traffic accidents, fire and theft. Often, additional conditions are imposed, with special requirements put on sub-contracting, parking places and driver practices, that are difficult to comply with. Typical of most contracts with poor cover are low claims limits and pro-rata reimbursement clauses for when the cargo value is higher than the limit per incident.”

Having in the past cited the lack of freedom in the regulations to purchase more comprehensive cover, forwarders and carriers are now failing to demand better value for their insurance premiums. “Now is the time to change these attitudes and for demands to be made of insurers to improve their service,” urged Petrenko. “Extensive risk mitigation tools are now possible through which the insured can avoid policy restrictions as well as safeguard against other risk such as errors and omissions and legal defence costs. Higher insured limits on the value of goods in transit are also possible avoiding excessive deductibles. Forwarders and road hauliers in Russia must now demand such protection from their insurers.”

Panditrans also took the opportunity to address many stakeholders in the freight transport sector at the TransRussia conference to present some of TT Club’s loss prevention initiatives to assist those involved in temperature-controlled cargo movements, as well as the risk management of tank container operations.

Kirill Berezov of Panditrans lead this part of the conference agenda. “With the movement of perishables increasing in Russia, by both container and road trailer, it is timely to remind those in the sector of the wisdom of maintaining the safety of cargoes through professional risk management,” explained Berezov. “Panditrans and TT Club have much experience in these measures, ranging from pre-preparation of the transport equipment, packing and route planning; through to awareness of, and measures to mitigate the risks involved; and ultimately the appropriate insurance cover.” Such comprehensive advice is available to download for free in both Russian and English on TT Club’s website: Stop Loss: Temperature Controlled Cargo.

Similarly, when considering the risks involved in the movement of tank containers and their often hazardous cargoes, careful consideration of safety and security issues are critical. “The main danger lies not in the loss of the tank with the cargo itself or in damage from road accidents, but in a complex chain of errors that, as a result, can lead to catastrophic consequences given the hazardous nature of many commodities involved. Severe liabilities for the transport operator can ensue,” warned Berezov.

The main risks, with the highest potential cost of damages are environmental and injury to, or even the death of, third parties. The correct choice of specialised tank equipment, as well as thorough preparation, including cleaning to avoid contamination, are basic to avoidance of calamity. Once more, TT Club has set out best practice guidelines for operators that can be accessed in the Russian and English languages: Stop Loss: Tank Containers.

In addition to having the accolade of The Official Insurance Company of TransRussia 2021, the organisers of the event marked its 25^th Anniversary by presenting Panditrans/TT Club with an award for their ‘Contribution to the Business Programme’.

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