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News Desk


Fire on 777 highlights dangers of lithium batteries on aircraft


BIFA has been highlighting to Members the dangers of shipping declared and non-declared hazardous materials and the following incident is a timely reminder of the problems facing the air sector. A fire onboard an Ethiopian


Airlines 777 freighter at Shanghai Pudong in late July has again triggered questions about the safety of lithium batteries and cargo mis- declaration.However, 100% cargo screening in Shanghai may make it easier to determine the cause. One source at the airport advised


there were three pallets of lithium batteries listed on the manifest for loading in China for export. Lithium ion and lithium metal


batteries are prohibited on passenger aircraft, and there are strict rules on their carriage on freighters. But there have been problems with undeclared counterfeit batteries, poor packaging and mis-declared


These scooters need to be shipped in line with lithium battery regulations – but many new shippers may not know the rules. The recent fire on Ethiopian’s


aircraft was put out without harm to life, but investigators – and the carrier – will want to find out the exact cause. Ignorance of the rules will not


batteries. IATA has argued in the past that it


is these types that cause problems, and which will get onto aircraft despite measures against them, while legitimate manufacturers lose out. The increasing prevalence of


lithium batteries in modern goods makes the regulations harder to enforce. Dangerous goods specialists advise that new rules allowing powered scooters to be used in many countries could lead to a spate of dangerous shipments.


protect the shipper from liability or indeed the lives of individuals caught up in these incidents. Regulations covering the


shipments of Dangerous Goods are being reviewed with a regard to tightening them and increasing the cargo agents’ responsibilities. In view of this development and


the increasing prevalence of lithium batteries in many goods, it would be prudent for Members to review their cargo booking and acceptance procedures to ensure that shippers make a declaration that the goods are not, nor contain, hazardous items.


Virtual Young Forwarder Network is proving popular


The Virtual Young Forwarder Network (YFN), which was launched at the end of May, is proving very popular for participants across the country. Aimed at supporting individuals that have recently joined the logistics sector or those that want to build-up their personal network, the events, which normally take place every other Wednesday at 1600 for 60-90 minutes, are attracting great attendance levels. Recently we have seen ‘Bitesize


Training’ (58 delegates), Combating Organised Crime in Logistics (45) and at the time of writing, good sign-ups for upcoming events, including another virtual port tour of DP World London Gateway. There is a calendar of events for


the rest of the year on the BIFA website.


6 The virtual YFN chair, Kyle


Lawrence (pictured), said: “I encourage people to come along and join our events. They are free,


informal, you learn something new every time, meet new people and have a bit of fun like quizzes, bake- offs, etc. Why wouldn’t you?” Carl Hobbis, training development manager, added: “The development of BIFA’s YFN continues to be of great importance and the digital format is exceeding my expectations. “There is a wide variety of events, which started with a virtual bake-off and a port tour that allowed you to see areas of a port that you would not be able to on an actual visit. “We have some great guest speakers lined up as well between now and the end of the year, so I would urge Members to encourage people to come along.” Contact c.hobbis@bifa.org for


more information or to register colleagues.


www.bifa.org


New EU road haulage rules


The new Regulation on the Mobility Package was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 31 July. The package consists of a


regulation governing access to the road haulage market and to the profession of road haulage operator or road passenger transport operator; a regulation on maximum work and minimum rest times for drivers and positioning by means of tachographs; and a directive revising enforcement requirements and laying down rules on posting of drivers. Below are links to the amended


legislation. Your attention is drawn to the following: • Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 on Driving and Rest Times: This enters into force on the 20th day after its publication in the Official Journal, ie 20 August 2020. However, point (15) of Article 1 and point (12) of Article 2 apply from 31 December 2024.


• Regulation (EU) 2020/1055 on Market Access (Cabotage): This Regulation enters into force on the 20th day after publication in the Official Journal. However, its rules only apply from 21 February 2022.


• Directive (EU) 2020/1057 on Posting of Drivers: This Directive enters into force on the day after publication in the Official Journal, ie 1 August 2020. The transition period for member states to adopt and publish the measures necessary to comply with this Directive has been set to 2 February 2022, from which date measures must be applied. It should be noted that UK


drivers will have to comply with these rules when in the EU after the EU Exit Transition period ends on 31 December 2020. In August the Department for


Transport published guidance solely relating to driving and rest times, www.gov.uk/drivers-hours, implying that those directives that come into force in February 2022 will not be implemented in the UK.


September 2020


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