12 awareness of


Issue 7 2013 Freight Business Journal The perils of imperfect packing


There has been a lot of talk lately on accurate weighing of containerised cargo – but this is only a small part of safety in the supply chain. How cargo is packed and secured in containers is arguably far more significant as it can lead to loads shiſting and cargo spillages. TT Club’s risk management director Peregrine Storrs-Fox examines the issue in detail.


The specialist freight insurer, TT Club is on a mission to heighten


cause of such accidents. TT


Club’s the


dangerous consequences of improperly packed containers. Effective cargo management is critical, everywhere in the supply chain. Thus, there should be great interest in the current debate in the container industry about incidents that damage cargo and containers, or even cause injuries and fatalities. The


issues include what


cargo is in the container, how much of it there is and how it is packed and secured. Much industry attention


recently has been focussed on whether inaccurate weights cause accidents including stack collapse, road and terminal vehicle overturning, crane failure or even contribute to ship loss. However, the reality is that accurate weighing of containerised cargo is only a small part of safety in the supply chain. The way in which cargo is packed and secured in containers is arguably far more significant; getting it wrong can mean loads shifting and cargo spillages. Accident investigations into


cargo claims received by TT Club frequently identify poor load distribution, improperly packed cargo and inadequate blocking, bracing and securing, including inappropriate use of dunnage. More evidence of the potential danger posed by unsafe packing and securing comes in a survey on behalf of


the International Labour


Organization, the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, who are developing a code of practice for packing cargo transport units (CTUs, including trailers, swap bodies and rail wagons as well as containers). The


survey confirmed that


it is not weight per se, but inappropriately packed and secured cargo that is the major


own claims


experience shows that 65% of incidents involving loss or damage to cargo are thought to be caused by poor or improper packing and


securing. This


persistent statistic is echoed by the more granular figures from the ocean carriers’ Cargo Information Notification System (CINS), where 35% of incidents investigated were found to have been caused by poorly or incorrectly packed containers. As


would be expected,


those who have researched the problem – amongst them consultants and the TT Club itself – have identified many different issues. For example, those involved in packing CTUs, having struggled to get a heavy item inside the unit, often cannot believe that it can possibly move during transit. Even if they do consider it, they say to themselves: ‘surely that 25 mm square batten nailed to the floor will stop it’. Many also believe that placing the heavy load near the door will make it easier to get it out again, without thinking of the consequences for weight distribution within the trailer or rail wagon. People are not aware enough


of the dynamic forces on cargo in transit. Try to understand it this way: A domestic washing machine goes through about 6,000 movements in a typical wash cycle; but a transatlantic voyage on a container ship may put cargo through 160,000 similar movements. That is why it is so important to ensure that cargo is properly secured. There is also an element


of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Once those who packed the container at origin close the doors,


they are generally


relieved of all responsibility. The container passes through so many handling processes on its journey that it can be difficult to pinpoint liability for an incident even if poor packing is


suspected. The consequences, however, are vast in terms of injury and loss of life as well as cargo damage and damage to other property. The TT Club is not alone in


promoting the need for ‘best practice’ guidelines


for cargo


packing procedures. For many years the SOLAS international convention for the Safety of Life at Sea and the IMDG Code (International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code) have referenced the IMO/ILO/UN ECE ‘Guidelines for Packing Cargo Transport Units (CTUs)’ (1997) to assist those involved in packing containers and other transport units. However, ILO research found


that only 15% of packers use the guidelines. Indeed, most respondents to the survey were unaware of them. Subsequently the ILO’s Global Dialogue Forum concluded that the existing guidelines should be updated and revised, and importantly formulated as a non-mandatory – but enforceable – code of practice. A group of experts was nominated by the three UN bodies, which has now totally restructured the guidance to cover the entire supply chain process and added more detail. Comments made at September’s meeting of the IMO’s Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargo and Containers sub-committee (DSC) will be considered at the final meeting of the group of experts in November. After that, it is expected that the draft code will be submitted to the governing bodies of each of the three UN entities for approval, culminating with IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee meeting in May 2014. Assuming approval, it is


anticipated


that administrations will be encouraged to adopt it in their national legislation. Concurrently with this


international activity, the TT Club commissioned Exis Technologies to develop ‘CTUpack e-learning™’, an


online familiarisation and training tool for those involved in the packing and unpacking of containers and other CTUs. The objective of the course is to focus industry attention on the significant and dangerous implications of bad packing and provide foundational guidance consistent with current good practice; it will be available during November 2013. CTUpack e-learning follows


the well established IMDG Code training course from Exis, which is also sponsored by TT Club. Both courses fit closely with the risk management approach that the Club has always fostered among the global freight transport community. As in other operational sectors of the industry, training is clearly the number one loss prevention measure and, if adopted as a core feature of the operator’s culture, can greatly reduce the number of incidents incurred globally each year throughout the industry. So plenty of good work is


being done but communication still remains the challenge. The ILO’s research clearly found that the current packing guidelines are not generally reaching those who are actually packing CTUs and therefore recommended that its replacement should be readily available in a format that can be used by packers across the globe. IMO’s DSC agreed that the CTU Packing Code should be structured in a


user-friendly fashion and


freely available on the web so that everyone can have access to it. The substantial investment over the last three years, drawing together this wealth of expertise to develop the CTU Packing Code, will only be worthwhile if effective global dissemination and use of the Code is achieved. TT Club hopes that the CTUpack e-learning


will help spread


sound information on good practice.


///INSURANCE


NEWS ROUNDUP RAIL & ROAD


The North Sea-Mediterranean corridor from Ireland and the North of England to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Mediterranean is one of nine Trans-European Transport Network priority routes unveiled by the European Commission on 17 October. They form a core network of main road, rail, air, maritime and inland waterway infrastructure that should be in place and operational by 2030. The routes will be co-financed to the tune of €23 billion by the Connecting Europe Facility, from spring 2014.


Container handling specialist Roadways Container Logistics has signed a contract for import movements on behalf of forwarder Panalpina’s Manchester, Birmingham and London Heathrow branches. Roadways’ Manchester office has also been designated Panalpina’s business co-ordination centre.


DB Schenker Rail has started trials to move Scotch Whisky by rail from Elgin in Speyside to Grangemouth Rail Freight Terminal, thanks to a new collaboration between several Scotch Whisky producers. The first train departed Elgin in early September and the service will initially operate twice weekly. It also has the potential to carry other food and drink products and empty Bourbon casks from the US for the whisky industry may be carried on the return journey to Speyside, along with other goods, such as malt and barley.


The MANP inland terminal, 45km south-west of Moscow, says it has launched regular intermodal services to a range of destinations in inland Russia, including the most remote provinces in the Urals, Siberia and the Russian far east. It will also help ensure that producers in those areas have sufficient containers for export.


FORWARDING & LOGISTICS


Ceva Logistics and specialist packaging firm Tower Cold Chain Solutions have jointly launched a new solution for shipping temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals


- the KryoTrans KTM


modular pallet shipper. The modular container provides secure and flexible transport for products such as vaccines and can be used at -20, 2-8 and 15 to 25 degrees Centigrade using phase-change materials and at temperatures from -20 to -60 degrees Centigrade using dry ice. The containers can maintain this temperature for up to six days.


Manchester-based road forwarder France Line International Transport has joined the Astre logistics network. Membership gives it access to PaletSystem, Astre’s established European pallet network for the distribution of part loads of up to 10 pallets throughout France and Europe. It numbers over 120 hauliers in France and a further 200 members in other countries and operates through main hubs in Paris, Lyon and Niort.


DB Schenker is setting up a specialised healthcare logistics centre at Tilburg in the Netherlands. It will serve as the hub for services in Europe and is scheduled to go into operation in November. It is the fourth DB Schenker logistics facility at the location.


Malta-based Express Trailers has been listed on the Eudra GMDP Database for Good Distribution Practice for medical products – the first transport and logistics company from the island to do so. EudraGMDP is compiled by the European Medicines Agency and now includes information on good distribution practice as well as manufacturing. It is a key deliverable of the new European Falsified Medicines Directive and will make the supervision of manufacturing and distribution of medicines more robust by allowing all the actors in the supply chain to check information available on their suppliers.


The British International Freight Association is warning of a scam involving Chinese freight forwarders. UK forwarders receive emails that appear to be from independent forwarding companies in China looking for UK partners and offering cheap ocean rates. But cargoes arrive at the UK port without the UK forwarder having received the original Bill of Lading. When contacted, the Chinese forwarder then demands a large ransom for the release of the original. BIFA advises against entering into any form of agreement with an overseas partner only on the basis of a signature on an agency agreement.


Kuehne + Nagel launched a supply chain solution designed specifically for aircraſt engines at the European Aerospace MRO Conference in London on 24 September. It ensures reliable and safe transportation and storage of engines with certified processes and staff.


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