The devil is in the detail

Global fears of
terrorist attacks
have served to
heighten sensitivity
to the need for the safe
transportation of dangerous
goods but continuous
awareness campaigns and
employee
education should
remain a priority
for companies
in the logistics
chain.
This is the
view of aviation
and dangerous
goods experts
in the airfreight
and seafreight
sectors who
say businesses
sometimes overlook the need
for dangerous goods training
and refresher courses as
laws change, often due to the
pressures of meeting client
demands and deadlines.
CEO of Professional
Aviation Services, Bob
Garbett, said although the SA
Civil Aviation Authority and
global regulators had placed
far more focus on dangerous
goods in recent years there was
still a great deal of ignorance,
particularly among consignors
and manufacturers. For
example, in a
consignment
of clothing,
a consignor
packed a few
litres of highly
flammable
cleaning
material which
was undeclared.
The ignorance
about the
transport of
lithium batteries
is a huge risk. It is only when
a disaster occurs that people
really take notice,” he said.
Garbett said the main
focus was on airline traffic,
rather than charter traffic,
widely used to ferry people
and cargo in South Africa
and on the continent. Larger
chartered aircraft, which
reached similar high altitudes
to airline aircraft, were subject
to the same air pressure and
dangers if they were carrying
dangerous goods.
“If you have a consignment
of dangerous goods on your
aeroplane which causes the
aircraft to be destroyed or
damaged, your insurance
underwriters may repudiate
your claim as your insurance
policy will stipulate that
you must comply with all
regulations,” he said.
Garbett added that
countries in Africa were
less likely to have up-todate
knowledge, or efficient
application, regarding the safe
handling of dangerous goods
which increased the risk of an
incident.
There had been several
recent changes to the
SACAA Dangerous Goods
Regulations, he added. The
International Civil Aviation
Authority audits all member
countries to ensure standards
and recommended practices
are maintained and the next
audit of the SACAA is in May
next year.
Dangerous
Goods specialist
Captain Sanjoy
Sen of Sangena
Marine and
Logistics and
CSS Consultants,
former national
manager of
marine safety and
quality systems
at Transnet
National Ports Authority, said
although the cost of dangerous
goods training was minimal
compared to other training
programmes, it was not always
a priority for business owners
until an accident occurred.
Sen spent 24 years at sea and
has experienced his own fair
share of near misses involving
dangerous goods, including
accidents on the landside of
ports.
“In one incident one of
the forklift drivers drove
the forklift into a container
containing 20 tonnes of
explosives
and when the
fork hit the
container there
were obviously
sparks. Half of
that city should
have blown out
of existence but
it didn’t happen.
The point is that
you can’t wait
for things to
happen,” he said.
Around 5-10% of goods
transported by ship could
comprise dangerous goods.
He estimates that 200 000 to
400 000 of the four million
containers that pass through
the country’s sea ports are
likely to contain dangerous
goods.
INSERT & CAPTION 1
Around 5-10% of
goods transported by
ship could comprise
dangerous goods.
– Captain Sanjoy Sen
INSERT & CAPTION 2 
Ignorance about
the transport of
lithium batteries is
a huge risk.
– Bob Garbett