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Meantime, to prevent cargo damage, National Courier Online Tracking System offers the following damage tips and should be taken into account when one wants his / her cargo to arrive at it's destination safely.
Note that: The tips are not on order of priority.
1. Check list:
Have a check list against which every step is marked to ensure your cargo is well cared for when it leaves the premises and has a reasonable chance of arriving in a good condition in your client's yard.
2. Load distribution
The centre of gravity of the cargo needs to be as close as possible to the centre of the container. If this is not the case there is the potential risk of an accident during the transport and handling.
The centre of gravity should be:
Height: Below the geometric centre in the container
Across: Centre of the container
Length: 20' - maximum of 60 cm from the centre, for a 40' container this should be no more than 90cm.
3. Convention for Safe Containers -CSC:
The 1972 Convention for Safe Containers has two goals:
- 1, to maintain a high level of safety of human life by providing generally acceptable test procedures and related strength requirements for shipping containers.
- 2, to facilitate the international transport of containers by providing uniform international safety regulations, equally applicable to all modes of surface transport.
The requirements of the Convention apply to the great majority of freight containers used internationally.
Each shipping container requires a CSS Plate. The plate stipulates the maximum payload for the container and shows when it was last tested, or when it is to be tested next.
4. Theft:
Is the cargo of value to someone in the transport chain? The cargo might travel through countries with vastly different economic standards. To discourage others entering the container, seals should be used; these can be a simple strip seals, or the more sophisticated bolt seals, electronic seals and others.
5. Container type:
The type of cargo to be shipped should be the governing factor on the container type to be used.
6. Moisture control and ventilation
While the cargo will most likely move through different climatic conditions, the temperature and relative moisture in the container will change. Unless, at the time of packing, action has been taken to minimize the effect this will have on the cargo, damage may be expected.
7. Packaging within the package
The outside packaging might be able to withstand international transport, but what about the individual packaging of the items.
8. Temperature control
Libraries have been filled with information on the best method for transporting temperature sensitive commodities and how to stow them within the containers. Knowledge and assistance is available from reputable shipping lines and Government bodies. The shipper should make use of this information.
9. Stowage within the container
How do we stow the different commodities within the same container, dry and liquid, heavy and light, dangerous and non dangerous and a combination of these.
10. Tighten
Ensuring there is no movement within a container. The cargo might be perfectly safe in the warehouse environment or when packed, but can it take the first bend in the road, handle railway shunting on its way to the port, or in the country of destination and what about the sea voyage?
11. Cross contamination
Could the cargo to be stowed be effected by odours of other cargoes? Does the cargo have an odour of its own that might affect other cargos?
12. Dangerous goods
Some 10% of containerized cargo, world-wide, is of a hazardous nature. A ship with 2000 containers arriving from overseas into Sydney harbour can have 200 containers with dangerous goods on board. The cargo in those containers should have been stowed in line with the IMO regulations, while the containers should have been stowed on board in line with the same IMO regulations as well.
13. Check with the recipient
While cargo can be transported from the shipper's premises to the port, is the container allowed to move to the consignee's premises in the country of destination? Is the container within the local weight limitations?
Can the consignee handle the cargo the way it is presented to him / her, pallet weight, full drums, weight of the individual items etc?
14. Check the container before packing
The container arriving at the exporter's premises, is this the type asked for?
Is the container number on all sides, as well as inside the doors, the same as shown on the paperwork provided by the driver?
Is it clean and free of odours and debris?
15. Allow yourself enough time for packing
While all of the above has been considered and found to be in order, don't rush the packing and don't leave it till the last moment. Allow yourselves some leeway.
We might now have the snug feeling that everything is in place. Just a warning:
Under international agreement, the ship owner or operator is not liable for losses arising from inadequate packing. If a cargo is lost or damaged at sea and the cause is found to be the cargo / container, the ship will be entitled to reject liability. The claim for the cargo loss or damage would probably rest with the company that packed the cargo / container. That company might then be held liable for claims against other cargo loss as well as for damage to the ship. Similar liability can apply to the other means of transport used by the cargo owner / shipper as a result of the exporter's action, or lack of it.