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INSIDE ICHCA INTERNATIONAL
December 2020
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Welcome to the latest edition of Inside ICHCA International, helping to update association members, partners, and cargo handling industry colleagues worldwide. We do hope you are all safe and well and taking care under these extraordinary circumstances.
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Our sincere apologies that it has taken so long to produce an updated version. The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all, ICHCA was no stranger to its effects, and back in March, we took the decision to leave, our then existing, secretariat arrangement. Of course, this meant, sadly, that we could not produce a Newsletter until now, although we have been in regular communication with members and the Technical Queries are still flowing.
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Maintaining our cash position was paramount, especially in a year where we could not hold any physical events. It was not until July that we were able to recruit a part-time secretary and we were delighted that Amanda Cooper (who had left the Freight Transport Association but worked with us there for a year) was able to join us.
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Amanda, who is now our “Head of Secretariat” will commence full-time employment with effect from 1st January 2021 and will be your main point of contact for all administrative matters and other such queries going forward.
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My own retirement was postponed because of the pandemic and I now plan to step down in June of 2021 and we will be actively recruiting my replacement from January next year.
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The Chairman and board of ICHCA International remain committed to our long term viability and are holding a series of “strategic” meetings to look at adding value to our members, correctly addressing the safety concerns we have today and in the near future, and how we engage with our many external partners.
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Our NGO status with IMO, ILO, UNECE, and others is also something to be cherished, we have held it for many years, and it is something that is hard to achieve. Our work with these UN agencies continues and many of you are involved in that process with us. A summary of that work is included in this Newsletter.
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If you have any news you would like to be considered for inclusion in future editions of Inside ICHCA International, please contact Amanda at secretariat@ichca.com.
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Do not forget to add us to your mailing list. We hope you find this edition of interest! The compliments of the season to you all.
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Captain Richard W A Brough OBE Head of ICHCA International
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- Message from the Chairman
- New members
- Changes to ICHCA International Board of Directors
- COVID-19 Protection measures in ports and terminals
- ICHCA and IVODGA working together
- Technical Queries
- News from ICHCA ‘Down Under’
- Port Skills and Safety Newsletter – Nov 20
- TT Club – TT Talk goes “live”
- Exis Technologies Collaborates with Maritime Blockchain Labs Consortium
- Dangerous Goods , Exis and NCB
- New Publication from Nautical Institute
- Cargo Integrity Campaign
- ITCO launch new guidance document
- IMO Update
- ICHCA’s Technical Panel (ITP)
- ABTO Newsletter
- Publications Round up
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1. Message from the Chairman
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Dear ICHCA members and associates.
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This has been a difficult year for us all. The toll that the Covid-19 pandemic has placed on our families, communities, and countries has been unprecedented in living memory. We have a long way to go as vaccines are now emerging, but distribution will take time. These trying times have also affected our industry, but goods and freight still have to move and you will have all had to adapt in some way to keep things moving whilst staying safe and keeping your companies afloat.
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Many of us will be mourning the loss of friends, family, and colleagues for some time to come. My deepest condolences for those of you that have been negatively impacted in this difficult time.
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ICHCA is no exception, as we have had to adapt and adjust to the changing circumstances, but we are still here and strongly committed to improving safety in the transportation sector. Our members are the key to our success and we need to understand what it is you seek from your membership of ICHCA to ensure we remain relevant and can best represent your interests in our various affiliations, not the least of which is our unique NGO status as the only one that represents the voice of the cargo handling industry.
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I am currently chairing a series of meetings with the Board to look at our forward strategy and shortly we will be asking for our members views on those priorities. Safety, of course, is at our core and we will be reinvigorating our efforts to help organisations reduce their incident levels with some exciting new initiatives that you will hear more about shortly.
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We also face the challenge of replacing our Technical Advisor and General Manager Richard Brough. Richard, who has sacrificed much and has lead us for the last 10 years has decided to retire and spend more time with his lovely wife Sheila. While we will miss Richard’s excellent leadership, the Board is committed to carrying on the great work of ICHCA and will shortly be posting for interest in this position.
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All our services are there for you to access, all are explained on our website and in the membership handbook, which has been updated this year. If you need a further copy just ask the ICHCA Secretariat for one.
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I wish you and your loved ones the compliments of the season and look forward to improving safety in 2021 and beyond.
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John Beckett, MBA, CRSP, CHRP, ICD.D
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Chair ICHCA International Board of Directors
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BC Maritime Employers Association
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John Beckett and Richard Brough at the International Maritime Organisation. London
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Sadly, we have seen some resignations this year as the pandemic hit corporate finances, and that is understandable, however, most of you have stayed with us and we appreciate your continuing support in these difficult times. We will come out of the pandemic in a stronger position and better placed to support our members.
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We also, thankfully have some new members who have joined since the last newsletter and these are;
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National Cargo Bureau (NCB)
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The NCB is a US inspection body authorised to certify compliance with Dangerous Good Regulations and many other types of cargo. Its mission is “Safety of Life and Cargo at Sea”. It was incorporated as a non-profit organisation in 1952 to render assistance to the US Coast Guard to help the latter in discharging its responsibilities under SOLAS with respect to DGs and grain cargoes. NCB conducts tens of thousands of inspections and surveys annually.
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NCB bought ICHCA member Exis Technologies last year and has combined its membership of ICHCA with the latter. Also, many of you will know James Douglas who is a frequent presenter and delegate at ICHCA events, and he has been appointed as the CEO of Exis for which we offer hearty congratulations.
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Will Bartle of Exis, who sits on ICHCA’s ITP assumes responsibility as “Compliance and Regulations Manager for the organisation.
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Like Exis, NCB also offers training courses online and these will appear on our website shortly
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ICHCA looks forward to working with the NCB group more closely in the future.
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More information can be found at:
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Jaiota is a start-up company headed up by Sallie Strang (ICHCA Director). The Strang organisation (and family) have been long-time supporters of ICHCA, with John Strang AO our former Chairman and Chair of ICHCA Australia.
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Jaiota is a developer of “smart” container bolt-seals which can be used in a number of applications, including freight containers, to offer easy to use real-time “track and trace” solutions
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Working Time Solutions is the UK’s leading authority on shift work. For nearly 30 years they have helped businesses improve productivity and service standards while maintaining compliance and supporting employee wellbeing.
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Their combination of powerful software and specialist consultancy enables the design, implementation, and management of flexible optimised shift patterns and rosters.
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In these uncertain times, they are helping ports and cargo businesses to modernise shift planning and workforce management systems to improve responsiveness and precisely ensure the right amount of resource is available at exactly the time it is needed.
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We also welcome some new Individual members to our family;
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Carlos Tibbetts; Carlos has had a long and distinguished career in the US Army, rising to become a Lt Colonel. He is currently serving as the Chief, Terminal Operations for the 836th Transportation Battalion, US Army in Yokohama Japan.
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Yi Yang; Yi is our very first individual member from Shanghai in China
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Chris Symonds: many of you already know Chris who has been a member of our ITP since 2007.
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He is currently serving as Operations Manager at Solent Gateway in the UK bit has decided to join ICHCA in his own right
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Tim Smith; Tim has joined us for personal interest and research purposes
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3. New directors to strengthen ICHCA International board
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Ruth Gallagher, Head of Global HSE, A P Moller Maersk, Including APM Terminals
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Ruth has been working with ICHCA for several years now and is an active member of our ITP (International Technical Panel). Her experience in the transport industry is substantial , before joining APMT she was H&S Director (airside) for Heathrow Airport and she brings a unique and impassioned perspective to our industry as delegates at the Conference in Malta in November last year experienced. Ruth is co-ordinating an important new initiative for ICHCA and you will hear more about that in due course.
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Phil Green, Regional Head of Compliance, Associated British Ports – Humber
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Phil has joined the board following the retirement of Peter Wilkinson who served us for many years as finance director and a respected member of the ITP.
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Phil will have no problem stepping into Peter’s shoes as he has an impressive track record of his own. He has joined ABP in their largest ports complex- The Humber, main ports being Immingham, Grimsby, Hull, and Goole with many associated services, is the largest port area in the UK and the 4th largest in Europe.
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Prior to ABP Phil was HSE manager for Hull Trains coming from a background of being the UK’s HM Principal Inspector of Railways and before that an HM Inspector of H&S for ICHCA member the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) in the UK with a focus on Hazardous Installation, so he will be a great asset to ICHCA and the board.
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4. Covid-19 protection measures in ports and terminals
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The pandemic has been under way essentially since March and you will have all had to adapt your operations and protection of personnel in that period. There are a number of on-line resources that ICHCA has located that may still be of use to you in monitoring your systems and making improvements. The pandemic may not leave us very soon and it likely that COVID-19 will not be eradicated. In global history only one virus has ever been eliminated – smallpox.
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New vaccines are going to help but we should also expect that there will be more pandemics in the future, so we need to be prepared.
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A new portal linking to resources will appear on the ICHCA website soon, but important links can be found on the PSS website which has free to download sample risk assessments;
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PSS have also produced a very useful “gazetteer” linking to other websites and guidance at;
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IAPH (International Association of Ports and Harbours) also has a resource which can be found on the WPSP (World Port Sustainability Programme” website (of which ICHCA is partner) at;
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Newsfeed from World Ports;
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These links will be added to the ICHCA website and maintained regularly.
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ICHCA has entered into a new collaboration with another NGO – IVODGA which stands for International Vessel Operators Dangerous Goods Association. We are working on a major initiative with their team on Dangerous Goods Compliance in Warehousing following the devastating explosion in Beirut a few months ago. A “White Paper” is being developed to help industry colleagues who handle and store dangerous goods and more information will be released shortly.
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If you wish to know more about IVODGA you can find it here;
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The current Chair of IVODGA is Uffe V Ernst Frederiksen of Maersk Line who is the Special Adviser to ICHCA International
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As promised, we are going to feature, once again, a selection of recent Technical Queries for member’s general interest starting from the next issue. Recent queries have included;
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- Liquid Stock Control Systems
- Yard stacking requirements for containers with Dangerous Goods
- STS/Vessel allisions
- Grain in Containers
- Max ground gradient for safe container stacking
- Straddle Carrier Rescue
- Straddle Carrier training
- Pest Inspections
- Bulk lorry tipping in high winds
- Cracks in large fork-lift counterweights
- Mooring dolphin arrangements
- Working on top of steel pipes
- Accident statistics
If any member has a Technical Query on any matter related to cargo handling or associated activities then please send your query to Richard Brough at tech.advisor@ichca.com
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All enquiries will be handled in the strictest confidence.
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The Technical Query Service is free of charge to all ICHCA members and can be extremely useful when you do not know which way to go!
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7. News from ICHCA "Down Under"
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The latest issue of “Inside ICHCA Australia” (Dec) includes the following stories:
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- Season’s greetings
- Record grain crop predicted
- Significant container loss at sea
- ACCC’s Acacia Ridge terminal appeal unsuccessful
- Supply chain workers to get vaccinated as a priority
- Zero emissions vessel delivered
- Grain train derailed near Port Kembla
- Updates from the Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment
The Edition can be found on the following link along with previous editions;
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8. Port Skills and Safety Newsletter – November 2020
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The Port Skills and Safety organisation in the UK is an important member of ICHCA and we work very closely together on issues of common interest. Their latest newsletter (Nov 20) contains the following;
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- Self-Mooring Guidance issued
- Mental Health First Aider Training
- Drone Safety Paper for UK Ports
- HSE “Driving for Work” review
- BITA – Forklift Safety Video Resource
- Pier Safety Campaign
- Various Safety Alerts
- Free safety resources
PSS also deals with Technical Queries from its members and we often share the questions and responses.
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9. TT CLUB – Regular “TT Talk” issued
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The latest TT Talk features “Crane collisions & allisions”
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10. Exis Technologies Collaborates with Maritime Blockchain Labs Consortium Exis Technologies, a global leader in IT solutions for the management of dangerous goods by sea, has recently entered into a collaborative agreement with Maritime Blockchain Labs (MBL), a consortium founded by BLOC and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) to explore the use of blockchain in tackling the significant risks and challenges associated with the declaration and handling of dangerous goods. Exis will be using their industry experience to help the MBL consortium with the build and test of a demo prototype to assess the potential for distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the maritime supply chain.
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According to the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS), nearly 25% of all serious incidents on-board containerships were attributable to mis declared cargo. ICHCA International, the cargo handling operative's association, has calculated that of the 60 million packed containers moved each year, 10% are declared as dangerous goods with some ships carrying more than 1,000 containers with dangerous goods on any given voyage. Shipping lines are therefore keen to ensure that dangerous goods are properly classified, packaged, packed, and declared throughout the supply chain. Most of the significant ship fires are attributed to incorrectly declared dangerous goods, often exacerbated by criminal non-declaration or fraud.
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11. Dangerous Goods , Exis and NCB
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The recent tragic explosion in Beirut has focussed the mind of many in the industry as to how to deal with stored dangerous chemicals, either packaged or in bulk, in ports and terminals. ICHCA is involved in several initiatives that will result in updated guidance on this topic in due course.
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The New York Times developed an animated “time-line” of the event which can be found at;
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Our own Briefing Pamphlet No 3 “The IMDG Code” has been updated by Les Richings and Will Bartle, Chair and member of the ITPs Dangerous Goods Working Group and can be found on the website. The publication was sponsored by Exis for which we are grateful.
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Meanwhile, ICHCA member Exis Technologies has been adding to its suite of e-learning courses on the subject and its “General Awareness Course” now includes 49 CFR for our US colleagues, for more information follow this link.
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Additionally, Exis has produced a Spanish version of the course, the link is here.
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Recently the Port of Antwerp “certified” the Exis training courses on IMDG and of course, they are endorsed by ICHCA.
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Members of ICHCA can receive a 15% discount off the published prices if ordering through ICHCA itself. This is going to be extended to the courses offered by the National Cargo Bureau in the coming weeks – keep an eye on the website!
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Exis issue regular editions of “Hazcheck News” the latest of which can be found at;
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Parent company NCB (and new ICHCA member) issued a White Paper in July this year on;
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"A comprehensive holistic approach to enhance safety and address the carriage of undeclared, mis-declared, and other non-compliant dangerous goods."
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Exis has also launched “HAZCHECK DETECT” which is a cargo screening tool to detect mis-declared and undeclared dangerous goods in containerised shipments. Maersk Line is the first customer to sign up.
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12. New Publication from Nautical Institute
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In August, the Nautical Institute published “A Guide to Bulk Carrier Operations”. The highly practical guide was published with the support of INTERCARGO and Rightship” and draws on the expertise of more than 20 contributing experts representing a wide range of disciplines involved wit the dry bulk trades.
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The book takes the reader through the essentials at each stage of the voyage, from preparation and loading, to care of the cargo and ship at sea, and finally arrival and discharge.
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13. Cargo Integrity Campaign
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Members may have seen recent press announcements about the Cargo Integrity Group's new publication: CTU Code – A Quick Guide, which incorporates a “Packers Checklist” for freight containers. If you missed the e-mail shot which included copies, then you can download the publication free of charge from the “Campaigns” section of the ICHCA website at;
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Details of the CIG members are also included along with other important documents including a Mandarin Chinese version of the Guide and checklist (we are grateful to TT Club for providing these versions)
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The CIG continues its work and is looking at a series of outcomes over the coming months to improve the safety of personnel and cargoes in the CTU supply chain.
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Richard Brough attended a meeting of the UNECE’s Multimodal Working Party, which is one of the UN’s sponsoring bodies and there are calls for a review of the Code which was initially published in 2014.
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A few weeks later ICHCA held its first joint webinar with GSF on the subject of GSF/ICHCA present Avoiding Pest Contamination of Ocean Freight Containers (NASCI Initiative). NASCI stands for North American Sea Container Initiative and the webinar featured a joint presentation by Wendy Beltz who is Field Operations Director, District 1, US Dept of Agriculture, and Wendy Asbil who is National Manager, Invasive Alien Species and Domestic Plant Health Programs Section, Plant Health and Biosecurity Directorate, Canadian Food Inspection Agency / Government of Canada.
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14. ITCO launches new guidance
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ICHCA member ITCO (International Tank Container Operators) have launched a new publication on “Guidance for Working on Top of a Tank Container” which is the 4th in its series of Technical Guidance Documents (TGs). Members will recall that the ICHCA Briefing Pamphlet No 30 “Safe Handling of Tank Containers” was developed jointly with ITCO.
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The new publication assists in the risk assessment process and the selection of equipment prior to accessing the top of a tank container.
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The HQ of the International Maritime Organisation in London remains closed for regular meetings and probably will do so until at least July 2021. Virtual meetings have been taking place of course and many ICHCA delegates have been in attendance.
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- 7th Meeting of the IMO Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse Gases (ISWG-GHG 7) which was attended by James Hookham, General Secretary of the Global Shipper’s Forum (GSF) who are ICHCA members and James sits on ICHCA’s board.
- 44th Session of the Facilitation Committee attended by Richard Brough which for the first-time featured measures to combat maritime corruption which in some parts of the world is prolific. ICHCA has signed an MOU with MACN (Maritime Anti-Corruption Network) which is focused on exposing acts of corruption. It's Executive Director Cecilia Müller Torbrand has presented at previous ICHCA events, notably Las Palmas. More information can be found at; Welcome to MACN (maritime-acn.org)
The meeting also focussed on continuing work on the “IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business” and the “Maritime Single Window”
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- 102nd Session of the Maritime Safety Committee
This is the main safety committee of the IMO and was attended by several ICHCA delegates. No new business was admitted due to the shortened virtual working hours. Simultaneous translation was provided on the KUDO platform, but many international delegates had connectivity issues depending on where they were in the world.
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MSC generally “adopts” legislative amendment developed by its sub-committees, the most important of which from ICHCA’s perspective are;
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CCC (Carriage of Cargoes and Containers) especially work on the IMDG and IMSBC Codes
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SSE (Ship Systems and Equipment) where we have been working on the SOLAS Amendment and Guidelines for Ships’ Lifting Appliances and
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SDC (Ship Design and Construction) where we have been working on updated guidance on mooring arrangements, operations, and training.
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The Committee duly adopted Amendment 40-20 to the IMDG Code but have allowed for it to be pushed back 6 months so it will enter into force on 1st June 2022, although it can be applied on a voluntary basis from 1st January 2021.
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What is not clear is will it be published in time, digital versions may be available this month, but no hard copies will be available until early in the New Year.
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The EmS and MFAG guidance has also been updated.
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Draft Amendments to the CSS Code (Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing) were also approved including;
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- Guidelines for the preparation of the Cargo Securing Manual
- Amendments to the Code of Practice for Ships Carrying Timber Deck Cargoes
- Guidelines for Securing Arrangements for the Transport of Road Vehicles on Ro-Ro Ships
The committee noted the progress being made on the “Revision of the Inspection Programmes for Cargo Transport Units carrying Dangerous Goods.” This is an ICHCA initiative to widen out inspections to incorporate all types of cargo and more closely align with the tenets of the CTU Code (Code of Practice for the Safe Packing of Cargo Transport Units) The correspondence group on this work, co-ordinated by New Zealand continues and will report back to CCC#7, now delayed to September 2021.
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Guidelines on Places of Refuge for Ships in Need of Assistance are due to be finalised in 2021
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The revised SOLAS amendment and Guidelines on “Onboard Lifting Appliances and Anchor Handling Winches” is largely complete apart from the second part where the correspondence group is still deliberating. The adoption of these amendments will miss the deadline (sadly) for entry into force in 2024 but have been recommended for “exceptional circumstances” to be adopted by a future meeting.
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The matter of “training, familiarisation, and qualifications of shore-based personnel operating shipboard lifting appliances and loose gear” has been referred to the FAL committee. (It was the FAL committee that developed the training guidance for shore-based mooring personnel – so ICHCA suggested this route)
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The SDC amendments to Guidelines on the Design of Mooring Arrangements and the Selection of appropriate Mooring Equipment and Fittings for Safe Mooring were also approved.
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MEPC (Marine Environment Protection Committee) also held a virtual session attended by James Hookham. Matters under consideration included the reduction of vessel emissions to meet the controversial IMO targets. This has been widely reported in the press, ICHCA’s report will follow later.
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A revised schedule of meetings for 2021 has been issued and will be posted on the ICHCA website. Any member wishing to attend a meeting should contact the secretariat in the first instance.
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The IMO continues to update its website. The publications page is where members can find errata and corrigenda sheets for many Codes including the IMDG Code. Do not forget members can enjoy a 15% discount on published prices for all IMO publications.
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IMO also continues to publish its monthly digest of marine and port related news and this can be located at;
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16. ICHCA’s International Technical Panel (ITP)
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Sadly, the ITP has been unable to meet physically since Malta in Nov 2019 where a very well attended and productive meeting was undertaken. Once again, because of the hiatus in the secretariat, publication of the Meeting Report (ITP#82) was delayed but has been e-mailed to members now and posted on the website. The presentations from Malta will be available on the website shortly.
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It is now planned to attempt a “virtual” meeting of the ITP in the early part of 2021, this may allow more to attend. ICHCA now has experience of hosting webinars and they seem to work very well. You will receive further details in due course.
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If you have not seen the ITP#82 report then contact Amanda in the secretariat.
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17. ABTO: Association of Bulk Terminal Operators
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Once again ICHCA took part in ABTO’s annual conference (virtual this year) and Richard Brough moderated the 2nd day which featured ports and terminals in the “new normal” The latest ABTO newsletter “BULK TERMINALS INTERNATIONAL is also available here;
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18. PUBLICATIONS ROUND-UP
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An updated version of “Collision Prevention in Terminals” developed by PEMA, ICHCA, and TT Club is now available on the website. This extremely useful document was largely drafted by Stephan Stiehler, Deputy Chair of the ITP
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ICHCA has also collaborated with IAPH, TT Club, and WPSP to produce a document on “Port Community Cyber Security”. As we move to an ever more connected industry, especially with the acceleration of “digitalisation” and concepts such as “Port Call Optimisation”, “Collaborative Decision Making”, “Just in Time” etc we need to ensure that all connected organisations fully understand the risks from Cybercrime and related activities. We are well aware of the attacks on major shipping lines and even the IMO itself this year.
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The document is available to download from the website.
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LEEA (Lifting Engineers Association) has published “Guidance on the use of One Trip textile slings and Pre-slung cargo slings (LEEA 078). PSS and we are consulting with LEEA to widen the scope of the document and get it jointly badged in due course.
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The document is currently only available for LEEA members, but we will have another version shortly.
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Meanwhile, LEEA have now made the “Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Lifting Equipment (COPSULE) 9th Edition” freely available for the first time and it can be downloaded at;
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There is also an extremely useful “interactive” version of this standard trade publication.
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UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) has just published the latest “Review of Maritime Transport” 2020 which features a section on the impact of the pandemic.
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The document is available for download here;
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There is also an interesting treatise on “Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade and development: transitioning to a new normal”
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The article originally appeared in Lloyd’s List, with a link to www.lloydslist.com and we are grateful to James Baker at Lloyds List for giving ICHCA permission to reproduce it. We are also grateful to Rachael White, CEO of Next Level Information for facilitating the interview with James and Richard.
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Port Technology International (PTI) also featured ICHCA in its special 100th Edition and the article, reproduced here by kind permission of PTI is Richard Brough’s take on;
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“Cargo Handling and Equipment Supply in Mega-Ports” and can be found on this link;
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Well it just remains to say that we hope you enjoyed reading this “bumper” edition and found some useful information that you can use in your day to day activities.
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ICHCA is here to help and do not forget the Technical Query service which is free for all members just contact; Tech.advisor@ichca.com
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All the team at ICHCA wish you the compliments of the season and hope that you have a prosperous but above all safe and healthy 2021.
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© ICHCA International 2020
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