Supply Chain Security has been a hot topic for some years now with the vulnerability of international trade to threats such as economic and political terrorism, smuggling and organised crime becoming an increasing focus for companies.
Mike Compton of ICHCA International reports on the IMO sub-committee meeting, which took place 17-21 September 2007. Most of the IMDG Code has been mandatory since 1 January 2004. However, one small part is not and that is concerned with shoreside training of those persons who are involved in any way with the generation of packaged dangerous goods to the port and the ship. Similar training for ships' crews is mandatory but the reasoning for the difference is that IMO's remit does not extend ashore beyond the immediate ship/shore interface.
TT Club, the specialist transport insurer, has called for the training of those handling dangerous goods on land prior to shipment by sea to be mandated under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.
Two important recent judgments concerned the question whether a driver who falls asleep at the wheel is liable for wilful misconduct under Article 29 CMR. Fortunately, in both cases the driver survived the accident.
In TT Talk Edition 99 we mentioned that UCP 600, the new 'ICC Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits' replaced its predecessor UCP 500 per 1 July 2007. UCP does not have automatic force of law, but is almost universally recognized and incorporated by the parties into their documentary credit (or 'letter of credit') contract.
As TT Talk goes to press, there are reports of another container, allegedly laden with pesticides, exploding. The Club has frequently highlighted the risks arising from errors throughout the supply chain from manufacture through packing and labelling to documentation.
A remarkable aspect in MSC v Trafigura Beheer (discussed in item 2, just above) was, in the words of Aikens J, the 'international conspiracy' to steal the 18 containers.
The TT Club is strongly urging container terminal operators to fit electronic sensor devices to quay crane booms to prevent them accidentally colliding with vessels during loading and unloading operations in port.
