THE SA Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) is investigating the recent incident in which the MSC Chloe lost 13 Containers overboard 22 miles off Durban. This will include checking securing facilities on board as well as whether the cargo owners and packers’ personnel had been trained.
According to the Responsible Packaging Management Association of Southern Africa (RPMASA), this highlights the need for those involved in shipping to ensure that their IMDG, CTU packing and VGM training are up to date as the investigation will include checking on the cargo owners and who packed the containers, and if their relevant personnel have been adequately trained.
“NB CTU Packing and VGM are relatively new but IMDG requires initial training followed up by periodic refresher training especially when new revisions are published or about to come into effect,” the association said in a statement.
It added that IMDG training for shore-side staff came into effect in 2010. “It is not a new requirement and is clearly specified per job category in Chapter 1.3 of the IMDG Code. This requires initial training followed up by periodic refresher training, especially when revisions to the regulations are made.”
CTU Packing and VGM Training were introduced with the publication of the ILO/IMO/UNECE CTU Packing Code of Practice in November 2014 aimed at preventing incidents and loss of cargo overboard at sea.
According to the association, these apply to all types of cargo and fall under SOLAS (Safety of life at Sea Regulations).
“The danger of containers overboard is that they can float almost submerged for a considerable time due to entrapped air pockets, posing serious risks to small craft which could be severely damaged or sink if hit by one which would be difficult to spot in a heavy sea.”