MCNAMERA WARNS OF MISDECLARED BULK CARGOES
Capt. James McNamara, president of the National Cargo Bureau in New York, said Tuesday that despite the heightened scrutiny of containerized cargo for security purposes, misdeclared bulk cargoes continue to plague ocean carriers and their insurers.
Rules set out by the International Maritime Organization, for example, prohibit such violations as shipping direct-reduced iron as “iron sand,” a familiar misnomer on vessel manifests. Shippers or charterers often keep vessel masters in the dark about the real nature of iron sand. If the cargo is actually direct-reduced iron, it emits a dangerous hydrogen gas when wet.
A comparable threat occurs when ammonium nitrate is shipped as “fertilizer,” another catch-all category, McNamara said at a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy alumni luncheon. “Landfill” is another generalized term that often includes hazardous cargoes deliberately mislabeled to be sent cheaply.
“The master is often the last to know the real nature of such misrepresentations, usually too late, after a fire or fatalities occur on his own ship,” McNamara said.
The small print in new IMO codes regarding the proper stowage of hazardous cargo must be observed to the letter, he warned, or else charterers will terminate pacts and insurers will cancel vessel coverage.