- Maersk to carry out random container checks in North America in a bid to check out misdeclared cargoes.
- Inspection pilots from National Cargo Bureau will carry out inspections for import and export cargo into the ports.
- If mismatching cargo is found compared to the given declaration, shippers could face paying a higher bill.
According to Splash247, Maersk has started to carry out random container checks in North America in a bid to weed out misdeclared cargoes.
Randon checks
This latest initiative by Danish carrier has been carried out in an attempt to find solutions to the spate of fires that have broken out on box ships in recent years, including its own 15,000 teu Maersk Honam last year, which resulted in the loss of five lives.
Maersk’s physical container inspection pilot is currently performing inspections for import and export cargo into the ports of Newark Berth 88, Houston Bayport, Miami Pomtoc and New Orleans Ceres terminals.
The randomly selected containers are being inspected by National Cargo Bureau, and the cost for this inspection will be paid for by Maersk. If a container is discovered to be inadequately staffed, lashed, and secured, or found to contain mismatching cargo compared to the given declaration, shippers could face paying a higher bill.
Compliance with CTU Code
The company stated in a release that the data collected through this pilot may be used to develop procedures that better ensure the accuracy of cargo descriptions provided to Maersk, as well as improve the use of the Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code).
Maersk stated in a note to clients, “Maersk and other carriers in the industry are working to improve safety and reliability in the Containerized Maritime Supply Chain, by verifying that cargo descriptions match actual contents of the container and that the contents of the container are correctly stuffed, lashed and secured”.
Initiative to avoid unpleasant situations
Earlier this month, a fire broke out on Hapag-Lloyd’s 7,500 teu ‘Yantian Express’ and the possible cause has been determined as another incident of a client failing to declare its cargo properly.
The Danish liner has been working hard to make changes to how it carries dangerous goods, introducing last September a new set of principles called Risk-Based Dangerous Goods Stowage.
Cargo covered under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code is now no longer stowed next to any Maersk ship’s accommodation and main propulsion plant which is defined as the zone with the lowest risk tolerance.
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Source: Splash247
