Dangerous goods' handling calls for more awareness

Although ports in the GCC have put in place globally-accepted safety rules, when it comes to handling dangerous goods there needs to be more awareness about safety norms and measures, said a senior maritime official.

"From a commercial standpoint several issues relate to the region. In terms of port safety it co-joins with a lesser than required awareness of the handling and storage of dangerous goods resulting in transit spillages and warehouse fires. On board ships, such awareness does exist, but once off the ship the awareness among port stevedores and transporters, warehouse keepers and agents fades, giving way to practices that results in potentially dangerous situations," Dr Ravi Sishta, Head of Maritime Facilitation, Maritime Sector, Department of Transport, Abu Dhabi, told Emirates Business.

According to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 1965, there is a wide range of products coming under the categorisation of 'dangerous goods'. This includes, among other things, inflammables, corrosives, toxic gases and substances, radioactive materials, oxidising substances, and various miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles.

The IMDG Code, according to IMO, was developed as a uniform international code for the transport of dangerous goods by sea, covering matters such as packing, container traffic and stowage.

"Shipping safety issues relate to tonnage standards and this area is still in need of much attention. The International Safety Management (ISM) Code implementation has revealed that the human factor takes centre stage and is in need of attention by way of soft skills training and innovative risk assessment strategies," he said.

In 1989, IMO adopted guidelines on management for the safe operation of ships and for pollution prevention – the forerunner of what became the ISM Code, which was made mandatory through the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (Solas).

The purpose of the ISM Code is to improve the safety of international shipping and to reduce pollution from ships by impacting on the way shipping companies are managed and operated.

All the GCC countries are also part of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code (part of Solas), which is a set of measures to enhance the security of ships and port facilities.

However, more needs to be done to ensure complete compliance of the ISPS Code at the UAE ports, relating especially to the unregulated shipping sector (vessels less than 500 tonnes gross), Sishta said. "The UAE's compliance with the technical aspects [of the ISPS Code] such as contingency plans, intelligence gathering and access control is of a high standard. However, the commercial aspect such as the code's ship-port interface in documenting the security chain leaves much room for improvements in minimum standards for verification and implementation," he said.

"For instance, the maritime regulatory of Abu Dhabi would like to see more declaration of security forms duly filled in, between the unregulated shipping sector (vessels less than 500 tonnes gross) and the port facility security officer," he added.

 

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