The World Shipping Council (WSC) has called on governments to close a gap in international dangerous goods regulations that allows containers carrying thousands of lithium batteries to be transported without informing carriers about the hazard.
The organisation has raised the matter amid increasing global battery transport and persistent cargo fire risk at sea.
International Energy Agency data shows that global lithium-ion battery deployment in 2025 was six times higher than in 2020 and battery demand is expected to double by 2030. Insurer Allianz has estimated that a fire occurs aboard a container ship approximately every 17 days.
At the centre of the concern is Special Provision 188 of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.
The provision exempts small lithium batteries from certain dangerous-goods requirements when they meet specified testing, packaging and capacity criteria. However, it does not limit the number of exempt batteries that may be consolidated in a single container.
According to the WSC, a container carrying around 4 200 laptops could contain approximately 416 kilowatt-hours of stored energy – equivalent to the battery capacity of three or four electric vehicles – without requiring dangerous goods documentation or container placarding.
“A container can be packed with thousands of lithium batteries and still travel without a dangerous goods declaration,” said WSC President and CEO Joe Kramek.
“The SP188 exemption intends to simplify the transport of individual devices with small batteries, not to make entire container loads invisible.”
The WSC said lithium batteries are transported safely every day when they are properly declared and the associated risks are managed.
However, when carriers are not informed of the cargo, they cannot properly assess the risk, select an appropriate stowage position, separate the container from other cargo or prepare an informed emergency response.
“We know what can happen when hazards are invisible,” Kramek said.
“Batteries shipped under the exemption have caused serious container fires, putting people, ports, ships and the marine environment at risk.”
The WSC, supported by five governments and a coalition of industry organisations, has submitted a paper to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) outlining a potential container-level threshold.
Battery shipments exceeding the threshold will have to be declared and could also be subject to placarding requirements.
“The current rules are not working as intended,” Kramek said.
“As battery shipments continue to grow, we need a better solution that makes these cargoes visible and allows the risks to be properly managed.”
The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers is considering the issue at a meeting in London.
The WSC has urged the sub-committee to address the matter as a priority so that improved regulations can be incorporated into Amendment 44-28 of the IMDG Code scheduled to become mandatory on January 1, 2030.
