ISSUE 3 2010
NEWS
A possible cargo fire is one of the possibilities being followed up by accident investigators following 3 September’s fatal crash of a UPS 747-400 freighter shortly after take-off from Dubai en route to Cologne. It has also sparked speculation that Lithium (Li) batteries could have been a factor in the accident, which killed both pilots. The crew reported smoke in the cockpit as they attempted to return to Dubai, before crashing into an unoccupied military compound. Li batteries in airfreight
are already a controversial issue. Before the crash, the US government was pondering much tougher rules for their transport on domestic and international flights operated by US carriers. The draft guidelines drawn up by the Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) would go well beyond current
International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules by banning the transport by air of all but the smallest batteries and even those would be subject to severe restrictions. They would either have to be carried in a crew-accessible location, in an approved container or a Class C cargo compartment fitted with detection devices and halon gas fire-fighting systems. But the International Air
Cargo Association (TIACA) said that the rules as drawn up by the PHMSA were impractical and argued that strict enforcement of the existing ICAO regulations would be more effective. However, according to some
press reports, since the UPS crash the US Government was
considering ‘fast-tracking’ the new regulations. TIACA
secretary-general
Daniel Fernandez said: “We’ve been following developments very closely, and have been involved in this issue since PHMSA first issued its proposed rule many months ago. We are
aware of the rumours that the Department of Transport may take early action in response to the UPS incident.” He added that TIACA was tracking developments closely and was concerned about the implications for cargo. However: “We are not in position to speculate on what
action DOT might take. We will await any decision by the DOT and will assess it once details are available.” At a conference on dangerous
goods transport organised by the Freight Transport Association in Coventry on 9 September, UK Department for Transport dangerous goods expert Jeff Hart said that while billions of dollars had been spent in developing Li batteries, little or no thought appeared to have been given on how they were to be transported. He told the conference that
there had been some changes to the regulations. Prototype or low production volume Li batteries, and also Li batteries with a mass greater than 35kg and waste Li batteries may now be carried on cargo aircraft only and with
5 Lithium batteries fly into another storm
state of origin approval. At the same time regulations governing other equipment containing Li batteries have been tightened up. State authorities around
the world are meanwhile being urged not to penalise shippers for minor labelling discrepancies. There have been instances of consignments being refused because of very minor colour and printing differences - though in fairness handling agents in the country of origin are in a difficult position as it is they who would be fined should the destination state find fault with the documentation. A further FTA dangerous
goods seminar will be held on Thursday 14 October, in Warrington. See www.fta.
co.uk (‘Events’) for details.
Death in the mail? Security rules ‘will add to airline burden’
Illegal dangerous goods shipments in airmail have become a serious concern, a UK Civil Aviation Authority official told a seminar organised by the Freight Transport Assocation. Ross McLachlan, deputy manager of the CAA’s dangerous goods office, told the gathering in Coventry on 9 September that of the 1,817 incidents reported in 2009/10, no fewer than 1,232 involved the Royal Mail. Many of the shipments emanate from online auction sites such as Ebay, which have encouraged traders to move goods of all kinds around the world. “However, many of them are totally ignorant of the implications,” Ross McLachlan said.
One Ebay business was found
to be sending shipments of gallium, a low melting-point metal rather like mercury but which is even more corrosive to airframes should it leak from its packaging. The CAA has had a meeting with Ebay to highlight the problems. The authority has also held discussions with the Royal Mail “to get them to enforce their own regulations,” said Ross McLachlan. Usually, errant shippers are only sent “an apologetic letter” explaining why the shipment was held up and providing “no incentive for the customer to change their ways.” The Royal Mail has however promised to consider ways of getting the dangerous goods message through to customers.
Prosecutions for sending
dangerous goods are rare, with just two in 2009/10, both of them involving freight shipments rather than mail. Most errant shippers receive only formal cautions. One shipper in 2009/10 was
given a conditional discharge, while the other was fined £4,000 with costs but, more importantly, now has a criminal record against their name. Shippers can under UK law face unlimited fines and up to two years in prison if the case goes to the Crown Court. In cases where accidents have
been proved to be the result of breaches of dangerous goods regulations, notably the 1996 ValuJet crash in Florida, US, company directors have gone to prison. There would also be the possibility of civil sanctions from the airline or other parties who had suffered loss or damage as the result of an accident.
l World Customs Organisation secretary general Kunio Mikuriya
said that improved cooperation between customs and postal authorities could reduce the trade in illegal goods by mail. He told the Universal Postal Union strategy conference in Nairobi on 22 September that he was worried at the growing number of illegal goods seizures by customs of illegal goods, mostly internet sales. Postal traffic accounted for 34% of customs seizure cases of counterfeit goods in 2009 compared with 20% in 2007. Electronic information exchange would give customs authorities better data on on which to carry out risk assessments, he added.
A Lufthansa Cargo expert predicts that new EU airfreight security regulations will lead to a severe shortfall in the number of registered shippers and forwarders and increase the burden of security work on airlines. Chief of security Harald Zielinski told a conference on 24 August said that only about 40% of Germany’s 60,000 airfreight shippers would become registered agents. The new EU security regulations, including provisions for companies and and airfreight agents to become Authorised Economic Operators started a three-year transition phase on 29 April this year. However, companies were deterred by the cost of certification, especially for multiple sites, and preparation work could cost €25,000 per site, said Zielinski. Only about a quarter of freight agents were investing in X-ray
equipment and sniffer devices to allow them to carry out their own security screening, again thrusting the burden onto the airlines, Zielinski continued. “In two years’ time we will have to secure maybe 20 times as many shipments as we do now,” he said. Again, agents were being dissuaded by the very cost of X-ray scanners - €300,000 for the machine alone, and when staff and training costs are taken into account, the total cost could be around €1m. Zielinski added that the need to X-ray shipments would
impose a maximum size limit on airfreight containers, as the scanners cannot penetrate more than a certain depth of cargo. In addition, around 20% of consignments would still have to be manually examined, because scanning is not totally effective in all cases.
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