Losses from dangerous-goods incidents in container ship operations are mounting and the industry is paying attention. The STCW convention stipulates requirements for the training of shipboard personnel handling dangerous goods, but little attention has been devoted to shoreside personnel. This is challenging as problems often originate far from the ship, in a container packing station or shipper’s yard.
“There is currently no standard detailing what competence shore-based personnel should possess. Yet as has been tragically shown by events, the actions of these personnel directly affect the safety of ships and crew and can have major environmental consequences,” says Sverre Dahl, a senior principal surveyor working with the SeaSkill initiative in DNV.
“At DNV SeaSkill, with the active participation of the shipping industry and a committee of experts, we are developing a new DNV Standard of Competence of Shore-based Dangerous Goods Personnel built precisely on the IMDG Code specifications,” Dahl continues. “The standard will not only serve as a reference point for training providers building courses to train shore-based personnel – our development of questions and assignments means that the assessment and certification of individuals with such important roles will also be offered to the industry,” he concludes.
In most countries, the requirements stipulated for setting up and running container packing stations are few and little investment is made in training. Consequently, chemicals may be packed together in containers without taking into consideration how they will react in the event of a leak, the contents of containers may be inadequately declared and loads may be insufficiently braced against shocks in transit. All these factors pose safety threats and onboard crew have very limited opportunities to detect and address these.
The IMDG Code issues complex rules for the classification, packaging, labelling, container stowage/segregation and documentation of hazardous substances, and most shippers exert themselves to get things right. These, however, are time-consuming tasks in a fast-moving process and procedural requirements cannot replace the competence of those involved in these stages of the shipping process.
Date: 2006-10-11