The International Maritime Organization (IMO) made advancements in alternative fuels, carbon capture at the vessel level, cargo safety, dangerous goods, and securing cargo during the twelfth session of the Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC 12) held last week.
Safety Gaps and SP188
During this session, special attention was drawn to the safety gap related to "Special Provision 188" (SP188), which provides exemptions for certain small lithium and sodium batteries. These exemptions are particularly significant in the context of transporting dangerous goods and maritime transport safety.
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Tom Bevington, Director of Industrial and Strategic Partnerships at Tigris, shared insights on this topic. He stated, "We raised these issues in our report titled ‘Before the Fire: Safety of Dangerous Goods and Visibility Gap’. Changes in the nature of goods being transported globally reflect a global transformation of technologies, particularly the growth of batteries in transportation."
Challenges in Transporting Batteries
Bevington added, "This rapid growth indicates a lack of accuracy in the global transportation process and specific issues related to Special Provision 188, which is a regulatory rule under international transport codes and one of the key regulations governing the transport of lithium cells and batteries in the supply chain."
He also warned that we may rely on data as a solution to these problems, especially when there is no incentive to correct the course. Technology must be designed to account for human errors and personal interests.
Bevington continued, "Data is only useful if people are empowered and willing to act on it in a timely manner. Even when the risk is clear, correcting it means diverting the vessel, reloading hundreds of containers, delaying schedules, and burning more fuel."
Identifying and acknowledging the problem is a critical first step, but what happens next will be crucial.
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