The International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is the mandatory regulations for dangerous goods and marine pollutants transported by sea in packaged form.

This eBook is designed as a practical companion for shippers, freight forwarders, carriers, port operators, and compliance professionals working with IMDG Code Amendment 42-24. These five checklists help verify compliance with specific parts of the Code. Revised 27 October 2026 and checked paragraph by paragraph against Amendment 42-24. See also the Downloads page.

1. Marking and Labelling of Packages, IBCs, and Large Packagings – General provisions, overpacks, empty uncleaned items, mixed packing, and class-specific rules to ensure packages are properly identified and marked/labelled.
2. Marking and Placarding of Cargo Transport Units (CTUs) and Bulk Containers –Placarding by CTU type, marking requirements, and additional marks for elevated temperature substances and marine pollutants.
3. Dangerous Goods Declaration (DGD) – A step-by-step verification checklist aligned with the multimodal dangerous goods form, including sequence of information, supplementary details, and retention requirements.
4. Special Provision SP 188 for Lithium and Sodium Batteries –Exemptions for small cells and batteries (including those packed with or installed in equipment), size limits, testing, packaging, marking, and documentation to address the growing presence of lithium batteries in global supply chains.
5. Checklist for Inspecting CTUs Carrying Dangerous Goods – designed to assist those who are carrying out or intending to carry out inspection of Cargo Transport Units (CTUs), following MSC.1/Circ.1649 (Guidelines for the implementation of the inspection programmes for cargo transport units), which replaces MSC.1/Circ.1442 and MSC.1/Circ.1521.

We wish all the readers a very happy, prosperous and safe 2026!!