The Nautical Institute, an international professional body for qualified seafarers and others with an interest in nautical matters, provides a wide range of services to enhance the professional standing and knowledge of its members. One of these services is the maritime accident reporting scheme (MARS), where members can report accidents and nearaccidents confidentially without fear of litigation. Dangerous practices, navigational difficulties and other hazards are thus highlighted in an effort to improve safety.
We remind readers that the US Department of Agriculture's Wood Packaging Material (WPM) regulations for pallets and crates came into effect on 1 February 2006 and that they will be enforced by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors from that date.
Cristina Martinez of the Barcelona law firm Indeco tells us that on 14 January the Spanish government introduced regulations requiring all freight containers to comply with the 1972 Safe Container convention.
US President Harry S Truman famously had a sign on his desk that proclaimed "The Buck stops here". Iain Sharples of the Club's Sydney office reports that the Australian government is following that example and introducing legislation to make sure that responsibility for container overloading ends with the company that did it.
