This story first appeared in the April issue of AutoTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE
The truck operator is the one in the firing line when their vehicle is pulled over at a random truck stop but he or she is not the only one with a significant liability if the goods on the vehicle do not square with the documentation.
There is a chain of responsibility for the correct conduct or passage of dangerous goods.
That chain stretches right back to the person responsible for ensuring that there is adequate training for all staff involved in the passage of dangerous goods, including but not limited to the people who prepare the manifests and shipping declarations.
The chain includes documentation, packing, placarding, stowage and segregation.
The possible fines are large at every link in the chain.
And if the fines don’t provide enough motivation, then think about it from the perspective of the RORO operators.
Ship operators are worried about the safety of their ships and the lives of the people on board.
Their interest in the correct cargo packing, documentation and segregation is actually a very real concern about the safety of the ship.
The nature of the cargo affects whether it can travel at all, where it can be stowed, what it can be stowed near and even when it can travel.
It is essential that carriers use accurate technical names in their declarations.
This is how to keep passengers and crew safe by carrying the cargo on appropriate sailings and stowing it safely.
Also, in the event something does go wrong, it is essential the ship operator knows the correct technical name as this defines the response to fire, spill and medical emergencies.
As Nick Savvides in a recent FreightWaves article says: “Some shippers can be unaware of the possible dangers of particular cargoes [such as charcoal] and can inappropriately declare their cargo, which during the course of the voyage can ignite”.
“Others seek to reduce shipping costs by not declaring hazardous cargo, leading to a shipping line stowing the container inappropriately,” Savvides says.
The mis-declarations are sometimes evident because of differences between the manifest and the shipping declaration, sometimes the problem becomes obvious when a truck is inspected, sometimes truckies will dob their past employers in.
Usually, it is a matter of luck that a mis-declaration is identified which leads to concerns about other cargoes by that operator and the levels of mis-declaration generally.
This is not just academic or pin-pricking.
As noted in the TT Club newsletter on March 20, 2019: “Taking the maritime segment of global supply chain, it is estimated that a major container ship fire at sea occurs on average every 60 days, albeit that there have already been four major cargo-related fire incidents in 2019”.
“Furthermore, TT Club’s records indicate that across the intermodal spectrum as a whole, 66% of incidents related to cargo damage can be attributed to poor practice in the overall packing process; that is not just in securing but also in cargo identification, declaration, documentation and effective data transfer,” TT Club says.
The federation is very keen to see better compliance with the requirements of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods code (known as the IMDG Code).
Compliance with that code is vital to the safe passage at sea.
There are two Cook Strait RORO operators.
They compete fiercely on most things but they are absolutely aligned on the need to get truck operators to up their game.
Various things have been tried in the past, including charging for correcting documentation.
Ships are not going to wait for a non-compliant truck.
Trucks have been left behind if they are unable to sort out their documentation in time.
The policing of the carriage of dangerous goods falls to all or any of the NZ Police, Maritime New Zealand, NZ Transport Agencies, Environmental Protection Agency, WorkSafe and probably other government agencies as well.
We are hoping that the various agencies are working towards a more joined up approach so that it is made very clear to truck operators that this issue needs to be taken seriously.
This applies to the responsibilities of everyone in the chain from the truckie through to the person who is legally liable for the education of the person who is doing the paperwork.
