In a week during which yet another cargo-related containership fire took place, it is timely to draw attention to on-going industry developments to improve controls in the carriage of dangerous goods by sea.

Following the usual biennial cycle, the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code has been updated and amended. This latest version, Amendment 37-14, enters transitional effect from 1 January 2015, meaning that stakeholders may start using the revised provisions. Amendment 37-14 will be mandatorily in force from 1 January 2016. Further information on the IMDG Code can be found

Readers may recall being invited to take a quick survey in Edition 133 on 21 September 2010 in relation to compliance with the shoreside training requirements mandated in the IMDG Code from 1 January 2010.

Writing in Inbound Logistics magazine, our colleague Dan Negron in New Jersey reports on a recent appeal for help from a member in the United States. He was handling an importation of roof tiles for a client, but it had been held up by the Customs & Border Protection service. There was nothing wrong with the tiles themselves, but the wood used in the crates did not bear a "permanent and legible mark" that it had undergone appropriate treatment against infestation.