With three crew members still recovering from their injuries, and mounting concerns over environmental damage caused by the fire aboard the X-Press Pearl, the TT Club has called for greater diligence in the handling of dangerous goods.
The week-long fire that engulfed the 2 700-TEU vessel has been attributed to a leakage of nitric acid, which was correctly declared but apparently incorrectly packaged or packed. This is, however, still being investigated.
“The X-Press Pearl’s sad fate is the latest in a disappointing recent and persistent catalogue of container ship fires of varying degrees of severity, which occur on an almost weekly basis,” according to insurance provider. “The vast majority of these are initiated by cargo of a hazardous nature. One estimate puts the number of mis- or undeclared dangerous cargoes in excess of 150 000 containers a year – each of which has disastrous potential.”
TT Club has been campaigning for some time to reduce events of this nature. This activity includes promoting awareness and wider use of the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units – the CTU Code - and seeking changes in regulatory requirements to improve the clarity, application, implementation and enforcement of mandatory regulations, including the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.
“An understanding by all the actors in the supply chain of safe packaging, packing, loading and unloading of containers, and of the need for detailed, accurate information of the cargo’s attributes and any potentially hazardous reactions to any eventuality occurring through the entire transit, is necessary,” says Peregrine Storrs-Fox, TT Club’s risk management director. “Above all truth, trust and transparency must guide all involved.”
