From 1st January 2016 the 37th amendment of IMDG Code published in 2014 is in force.
Segregation of dangerous goods have different provisions like, general provisions, segregation inside containers, Segregation on container ships, Segregation on ro-ro ships, Segregation on general cargo ships, Segregation between barges on board barge carrying ships.
Click on image below to access general segregation table and take “Three Steps” to check segregation within a container.
Before checking the Segregation Table, you must be aware that there are;
280 intersections in Segregation Table with 56 conclusions
18 Segregation Groups
72 Segregation Codes
2820 entries in IMDG Code
761 entries assigned with Segregation Codes which may over rule the segregation table
Additional Special Segregation provisions and exemptions
Different Segregation Provisions for Class 1 Explosives
And more
To know whether two or more goods are permitted in the same container submit UN Numbers in below form
One of the most efficient ways to transport liquid dangerous goods in packaged form is by tanks. IMDG Code, by giving options of varying sizes of packages, permits many Dangerous Goods in Liquid Form to be transported in tanks on board ships.
ISO TANKS
Advantages of using tanks, instead of drums, are numerous, however, tank is a specialized equipment and care by all parties at all time is necessary for an event less journey. Tank Provider, Shipper, Transporter, Carrier and all others involved in its transport may have different roles to play.
From 1st January 2010, the transport of dangerous goods in IMO type portable tanks and road tank vehicles will be permitted in accordance with columns (13) and (14) of IMDG Code only. For full details on IMO tanks refer to IMO Circular “Dsc/Circ.12 Guidance on The Continued Use of Existing IMO Type Portable Tanks and Road Tank Vehicles for the Transport of Dangerous Goods.”
When a particular liquid Dangerous Goods is allowed to be transported in UN Type tanks a Tank Code is assigned to the entry in Dangerous Goods List. Tank codes T1 to T22 are for liquid and solid substances of classes 3 to 9, T23 is for substances of class 4.1 and class 5.2, organic peroxides. The differences between T codes are based on Minimum test pressure (bar), Minimum shell thickness, Pressure relief and Bottom opening provisions.
A liquid assigned with a specific T Code in Dangerous Goods List may be filled in higher T Codes as permitted by IMDG Code. Example: HYDROGEN FLUORIDE, ANHYDROUS, UN 1052, assigned with T Code T10 may also be filled in Tanks under T Codes T14, T19, T20 & T22.
For shipping liquid dangerous Goods, if you think tank, then do the math!
For stability during transport the rule for liquids is either the tank be filled above 80% or below 20%. The most dangerous surge of liquid effecting the stability of vehicles on road is when liquid level is between 40 to 60%. To transport liquids between 20 to 80% baffle tanks need to be used. Baffle tanks have transverse surge plates fitted inside for longitudinal stability.
In a rough way we can say that the degree of filling for tank containers shall be greater than 80% and not more than 97% for general dangerous goods and 95% for Class 6.1 and 8 Liquids PG I and II.
However the actual value for each liquid shall be calculated with below formulas
1. for general use maximum degree of filling (in %) is
DEGREE OF FILLING 97
2. for class 6.1 and class 8 PG I & II, Liquids with an absolute vapour pressure of more than 175 kPa (1.75 bar) at 65°C or for marine pollutants maximum degree of filling (in %) is
DEGREE OF FILLING 95
a is the mean coefficient of cubical expansion of the liquid between the mean temperature of the liquid during filling (tf) and the maximum mean bulk temperature during transport (tr).
Liquids transported under ambient conditions, α could be calculated by the formula
mean coefficient of cubical expansion of the liquid
d15 and d50 are the densities of the liquid at 15°C and 50°C, respectively.
The maximum mean bulk temperature (tr) shall be taken as 50°C except that, for journeys under temperate or extreme climatic conditions, the competent authorities concerned may agree to a lower or require a higher temperature, as appropriate.
Example Calculation -Cargo Details and properties
Calculation to find ‘a’ and degree of filling
CALCULATION TO FIND DOF
Both cargo shall be filled above 80% in which Cargo 1 & 2 shall not be filled above 91.98% and 88.12% respectively.
Certain shipping lines, while accepting Class 6.1 & 8, Packing Group I or II, demand from shipper a signed statement that the degree of filling meets the respective provisions of IMDG Code applicable to the liquid filled in tank. This declaration guarantees the shipper’s compliance to degree of filling and indemnify the line from non-compliance.
Further a portable tanks shall not be offered for transport:
With a degree of filling, for liquids having a viscosity less than 2,680 mm2/s at 20°C or at the maximum temperature of the substance during transport in the case of a heated substance, of more than 20% but less than 80% unless the shells of portable tanks are divided, by partitions or surge plates, into sections of not more than 7,500 ℓ capacity;
2. With residue of substances previously transported adhering to the outside of the shell or service equipment;
3, When leaking or damaged to such an extent that the integrity of the portable tank or its lifting or securing arrangements may be affected; and
4. Unless the service equipment has been examined and found to be in good working order.
Before tanking do the math!
I wish all the readers “A Very Happy New Year 2015!”
Shippers across the globe has sometimes experienced rejection of their dangerous goods bookings with different shipping lines.
What are the reasons for a shipping line to reject a dangerous goods booking submitted to it or at the time of loading?
There may be varying reasons for a shipping line to reject a booking. This rejection can be immediately after placing the booking or after giving a formal acceptance the goods can be rejected from loading.
Some of the common reasons resulting in rejection by a line are:
Goods involved are prohibited by the line’s in-house rules
Goods involved are prohibited by Vessel owner / VSA
Transit port prohibition
Transshipment port prohibition
Discharge port prohibition
Quantity limit of transit port increase if this shipment is accepted
Quantity limit of transhipment port increase if this shipment is accepted
Quantity limit of discharge port increase if this shipment is accepted
Direct delivery confirmation needed from consignee
Import/Export permit required (UN Drug Control or CWC requirement)
Special documents such as analysis report or competent authority report needed
Technical name missing or not matching the proper shipping name
Insufficient or non-appropriate packing details
Segregation needed with other goods in same container
Reefer temperature not as per regulations for said dangerous goods
Flashpoint and Packing Group not matching
Flashpoint variation from pure substance is too large
Information in dangerous goods declaration not matching the details submitted in booking
Segregation or stowage restriction on vessel
Draft constrains at a port when loading DG on deck
Above is not an exhaustive list. There can be other reasons also; it is always prudent to place the booking well advance of cut off date for materializing a dangerous goods shipment. For more information on the process of line accepting Dangerous Goods, Reefer and OOG please refer to article Booking Validation .
IMDG Code, the mandatory instrument under SOLAS and MARPOL conventions of International Maritime Organisation for carriage of dangerous goods in packaged form by sea, undergoes biennial revisions. The latest amendment is 36th amendment published in 2012. With amendment number and year of publication this edition is called as IMDG Code 36-12.
IMDG Code 36-12 came into voluntary usage from 1st January 2013 and will come into force from 1st January 2014. Click here to see IMDG Code Amendment cycle 2010-2019.
IMDG Code 36th amendment (36-12) brought out many revisions and additions including total reshuffling of provisions concerning transport operations in chapter 7.x. Click here to see changes to IMDG Code 36-12 or search ’36-12′ in search box on top right hand side of this page.
October 2014 new IMDG Code will be published which will come into voluntary and mandatory application from 1st Jan 2015 & 1st Jan 2016 respectively. This edition will be called as 37-14.
Time flies by before we realize seasons changing. Similarly regulations for transport of dangerous goods by sea continuously gets revised and modified. If we do not keep up with regulatory changes we will fall short on compliance which may pose risk to personnel and property or environment with deadly consequences.
IMDG Code 37th amendment (37-14) is about to bring out revolutionary revisions in stowage and segregation requirements by replacing stowage segregation rules by codes and various other changes including but not limited to tank hazard communications, marine pollutant communications, vehicle shipments clarifications and exemptions etc.
Training is the first step to Compliance and Safety. Timeline for training for dangerous goods by sea is as below;
From 1st January 2008 – Recommendatory
From 1st January 2010 – Mandatory
Since training became mandatory in 35th amendment of IMDG Code (34-08) four years have passed. There are still a great lot of personnel in shore side who are either not trained or not undertaken mandatory refresher training.
It is the organization’s responsibility to ensure all personnel are trained commensurate with their responsibilities and timely refresher training is provided. Training can be provided either as classroom training, in house training or eLearning. The requirement of IMDG Code is ‘you SHALL be trained to handle dangerous goods’.
IMDG Code training became mandatory from 1 January 2010 for all shore-side staff involved in dangerous goods transport by sea.
Shore side staff requiring IMDG Code training include: – shippers and forwarders, container packers and consolidators, shipping line operations and booking staff, stevedores and port staff. IMDG Code e-learning is a cost-effective training course for shore side staff involved in dangerous goods handling and transport by sea.
IMDG Code 37th amendment will become mandatory from 1st Jan 2016. Training is Mandatory for shore side personnel since 34th Amendment of IMDG Code.
IMDG Code requires all those involved in dangerous goods transport by sea shall be trained in General Awareness, Function Specific and Security.
An indicative list of functions and example job roles are listed below. If you or your organization handles one or more of these functions persons involved must receive required training.
Functions and related Job Roles
Classify: Shippers / Manufacturers of Dangerous goods, Those who decide whether goods are dangerous or not, Related chemists, Those who prepare Safety Data Sheets.
Pack: Chemical manufacturers who package their products, Those who repackage dangerous goods, Those who palletize dangerous goods, Those who fill tanks / bulk containers.
Mark, label, placard : Chemical manufacturers who package their products, Those who repackage dangerous goods, Those who palletize dangerous goods, Those who packs containers, road vehicles, Those who fill tanks/ bulk containers
Load/unload cargo transport units: Those who are in charge of packing containers, filling tanks, shippers, CFS staff
Prepare transport documents: Those who prepare or sign a Dangerous Goods Declaration or sign a Container Packing Certificate
Offer for transport: Those who handle Dangerous goods bookings, Shippers, Freight Forwarders etc.
Accept for transport: Those who accepts Dangerous Cargo Bookings for carriage: Freight forwarders, Shipping Lines
Handle in transport: Those who handles Dangerous Cargo in transport to/from ports/CFS etc.
Prepare loading/stowage plans: Those who prepare stowage plans for ships
Load/unload from ships: Those who load/unload Dangerous Goods to/from ships (Stevedores/Gantry operating staff)
Carry dangerous goods: Employees of Lines who are responsible for safe Carriage on board their vessels
What must be trained?
Below is an indicative list of sections to be trained for different job roles
IMDG Code Training Matrix, prepared by Shashi Kallada
Backed with long experience in Application, Implementation and delivering training in IMDG Code we offer General Awareness, Function Specific and advanced training in IMDG Code.
A long international voyage of an unknown sailor and his small occasion to celebrate.
Anno Domini 15th October 2010 evening I shutdown my office workstation (at Maersk) and walked off to the retired life at the age of 40. I didn’t had much plans in my life other than relaxing in my home town, a small city, Calicut, fanned by gentle breeze from Arabian Sea.
Back at home, Bombay, on that evening I made a blog account thinking I will narrate my long journey in life.
Why long journey in life by 40, because I always followed my heart. A life’s journey followed by heart is much longer than a scheduled journey, because the true happiness is in journeying not in the destination.
That's Me
I always followed my heart, where I loved to stay I stayed long, where I didn’t love to stay I moved on. When I was sailing on long voyages I loved the staying in the going. When I stayed long during breaks in sailing or worked on storage tankers moored to SPM many nautical miles off the shore I loved the going in the staying.
In between sailing I took a break of 2 years and lived in West Africa, Tema and Abidjan mainly, involving myself into various aspects of port operations related to MPVs. It was one of the best days in my life spent in gold coast and ivory coast. Once I sat Hours and hours at Cape Coast Castle where 100s and 1000s of slaves were held captive before their fateful voyage across Atlantic commenced.
Cape Coast Castle
I was also involved in transporting ECOWAS Soldiers to Liberia for peace keeping mission, a life time experience of loading and discharging armored cars, ammunition and heavy artillery into and out of the cargo holds. Arranging the logistics for 1000 plus soldiers to sail on ship, installing their military radio station and antenna ,testing their radio. Communication was HF SSB Radio Telephony and Morse code. I felt am a soldier without uniform. Oops! I felt a soldier in Merchant Marine uniform 😉
Later during 1999 coup in Ivory Coast I had to save myself from looting, arson, gunshots and finally flee the country with nothing but the cloths I wore and my passport. Of course when I got out of then Sahar airport I had the stub of the air ticket additionally together with cloths I wore, passport and a one rupee coin which had hid itself in my jeans pocket. I walked from Sahar airport (Mumbai) , some 20 odd kilometers, to D.N. Road and borrowed a pen to fill up withdrawal form at my bank. The meal I had then at a restaurant is the best I ever had in life though cockroaches were playing on the table. I lost many of my documents and a box full of old photographs and negatives I had with me. I hadn’t changed to digital camera then, technologically less savvy I am. But those memories I still cherish in my heart.
Remembering those good old days I still some time test my ability to key Morse code.
My dusty old Morse Key
Coming back to the immediate days after leaving my last job and opening blog account, I sat in front of my laptop thinking what to write and where to start. I entered some small notes on dangerous goods; a topic very fresh in my mind after working 8 years in P& O Nedlloyd and Maersk dangerous goods department.
My blog entry was very infrequent through the months. Later one day I received an email from Microsoft stating that they are stopping the blog service and it will be automatically transferred to WordPress. I obliged and moved all my previous ‘rare’ entries on to WordPress.com
My entries during September and October 2011
13 entries in Sept 2011 is accumulated figure from Oct 2010.
Then at home town I bought a mountain bike and started cycling. Hitting out on the road before sunrise coasting Calicut’s beach road and turn back home from Beypore port some 17 kilometers one way.
Beypore port entry
Ability to read is a real gift, with this gift we can immerse ourselves into the world of literature. I indulge myself into reading any book I come across be it political, historical, religious or atheist. When I look back at my working days and now the graph of reading hasn’t changed much as reading was always part of me.
My Bookshelf
From Milton’s Paradise Lost , through Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment or Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina or Khayyam’s Rubaiyat one can spent his life journeying through letters. Need not mention Don Quixote of Miguel De Cervantes which makes me feel am another Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of Calicut 🙂
Back at blog, during my interaction with various people in industry I realized there is definitely a lack of general understanding in dangerous goods transportation. How to rectify it? Training, already made mandatory by IMO. Yes training is mandatory and is undertaken by many.
But training starts and ends within a scheduled timetable. What happens if the trainee had any doubt many days, weeks or months after training? This was the question pondering my mind. Who will answer him or her? Whom the trainee can approach post training with a specific question?
Then late in November 2011 I decided to write on blog again. But what to write? I started recalling what I used to ask myself during my initial days in dangerous goods safety department and on those topics I started writing on blog.
How much more I wrote? In November 2011 I wrote one more entry
End November my blog entry status looked like this.
Watching the visitor status I felt I am the most frequent visitor reading my blog through admin panel but later the number of visitors started growing. The topics they read made me understand what information they are looking for. This encouraged me to write more and more.
End December my blog entry status looked like this.
Then I got a Class 1.4S fireworks email from WordPress.com celebrating my blog status 😉
Blog Visitor Status – Months and Years
I realized that when I write more number of visitors are increasing, compare no. of entries and visitors for Oct, Nov and Dec below.
This encouraged me to write more about what readers are looking for and my status went on to end of March 31st as below
Across the globe there are dedicated people ensuring compliance to SOLAS, 1974, as amended, and MARPOL 73/78 for safety and environmental protection during transport of dangerous goods.
I am happy to serve those who are looking for information about safe transport of dangerous goods by Road, Rail, River and Sea. Its my duty to give back to the industry what it taught me!
Today I will celebrate passing the milestone of 10,00th reading of my safety blog with “BEER”, because
“An aqueous solution containing not more than 24% alcohol by volume is not subject to the provisions of IMDG Code.” 😉
3. If you and/or your organization is involved in shipping packaged /containerized cargo by sea but do not accept/offer dangerous goods under IMDG Code do you still need training in IMDG Code?
Answer for 2nd and 3rd questions isYES!
35th Amendment of IMDG Code has come into force as mandatory regulations from 1st January 2012. Training of Shore Side Personnel is mandatory according to IMDG Code since 1st January 2010!
Chapter 1.3 of IMDG Code, Training, specifies that employees shall be trained in the contents of dangerous goods provisions commensurate with their responsibilities. Untrained employees shall only perform functions under the direct supervision of a trained personnel.
IMDG Code establishes below trainings for Shore based Personnel
1. General awareness/familiarization training ( Mandatory ) 2. Function-specific training ( Mandatory ) 3. Safety training ( Recommendatory ) 4. Security training ( Mandatory )
The requirement is to periodically supplement the training with refresher trainings to take account of changes in regulations and practice.
Click on below link for guidance on shore based functions and related sections of IMDG Code to be trained.
Full details of training and related publications can be found in Chapter 1.3 of IMDG Code.
Safety of dangerous goods can only be ensured when all those concerned understand the risks involved and have a detailed understanding of Dangerous Goods Regulations. Training is the first step towards this goal.
If you need assistance in evaluating training requirements for individuals or organizations you may contact writer of this blog by filling details below.
IMDG Code Compliance Centre 