Pratik Bijlani –
The Cargo Integrity Group (CIG) has raised concerns over the lack of consistent reporting by national administrations on container inspections, a critical element in ensuring maritime safety. An analysis by CIG revealed that less than 5% of 167 national governments are submitting inspection results to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), despite a decades-old agreement to conduct and report routine inspections of containerized shipments. This deficiency undermines global efforts to improve the safety and sustainability of sea transport by limiting the availability of reliable data to draw safety conclusions.
The agreement, adopted over 20 years ago, requires annual submissions to the IMO for collation and analysis, creating a global picture of compliance with international safety regulations such as the SOLAS Convention, the CSC Convention, the IMDG Code, and the CTU Code. The findings are meant to help address potential safety gaps and improve shipping standards. However, the lack of submissions hinders efforts to address issues like poor packing, mishandling, or misdeclared shipments, which have been linked to recent incidents, including fires and explosions aboard container ships.
The CIG calls for national administrations to uphold their commitment to submit these inspection results and urges the IMO to continue publishing the findings for public access. The industry collective emphasizes that consistent reporting and transparency are essential to targeting communication and training programs for the global supply chain, ultimately helping to protect lives and the environment.
Given the potential discontinuation of the IMO’s reporting system, CIG is stressing the urgency of maintaining these safety measures to prevent further incidents and improve compliance with global shipping regulations.
Marex Media