A request by investigators that shippers willingly declare their involvement in a suspected case of misdeclared cargo that resulted in 2020’s first incident of a box ship fire mere days into the new year, is unlikely to yield the desired effect.That’s according to Michael Asherson, a partner in the shipping & logistics division of law firm Shepstone & Wylie.Asherson said it was unlikely that shippers would own up to any misdeclaration after a 10 000-TEU Cosco vessel had to be rerouted to Colombo in Sri Lanka after smoke was seen billowing out of its container hold.“Misdeclared cargoes have been the cause of a number of significant marine casualties in recent years and continue to present a major risk for container operators and insurers.”One of the most common misdeclarations relates to chemically volatile substances like calcium hypochlorite which can self-react under certain conditions causing fires and explosions.However, because of escalating insurance costs if correctly declared under the respective Institute Cargo Clauses category for dangerously hazardous goods, shippers can be economical with the truth.Said Asherson: “Given the potentially severe legal and commercial consequences for shippers in the event that they are positively identified as having misdeclared cargo, we would be surprised if they were to voluntarily acknowledge that they had knowingly misdeclared cargo on board a vessel.”With regard to Cosco Pacific, having left Port Klang in Malaysia on January 3 bound for Nhava Sheva on India’s north-western shore, it was forced to change direction while it was crossing the Bay of Bengal.Now it is indefinitely delayed in Colombo when it should already have turned around on its return cycle that includes several berths in China.Such is the potential ripple effect of its current delay, for the carrier and shippers, the information gleaned from port-side investigations currently under way in Sri Lanka suggests that lengthy and costly litigation may follow.Attempts to proactively address misdeclaration, said Asherson, were one of the reasons why the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) had been launched in 2011.“CINS currently has 17 shipping line members monitoring and capturing information on incidents involving cargo misdeclaration as one of its key functions.”
INSERT: Misdeclared cargoes have been the cause of a number of significant marine casualties in recent years. - Michael Asherson