Maritime Dangerous Goods

CHAPTER-2

INTRODUCTION TO DANGEROUS CARGO

Any kind of goods or produce being conveyed for the purpose of commercial gain through sea or air is termed as cargo. Today the maritime shipping industry carries more than 90 per cent of the world trade and thus ships and ports form the most important medium of trade and commerce, therefore it becomes important to make sure that there are specific regulations in place to ensure safe movement of cargoes in sea.

Centuries ago the safety aspects related to dangerous cargo were only related to the safety of vessel, crew and its passengers, but today the approach is much more broadened with focus on the protection of marine environment becoming a priority. All goods or materials which if not efficiently

Article 4.6 of the Hague Rules which gave instructions on how to deal with dangerous cargo and the liability of the carrier on the basis of his knowledge and consent to the transport of the particular goods.

2) Hamburg Rules

The Hamburg Rules made more details descriptions of the rights of the shipper and carrier. Article 13 of the same consisted of special rules on dangerous goods which made it the duty of the shipper to mark dangerous goods and inform the carrier of their nature and the necessary precautions to be taken in handling of the same. This was an important step in the fine-tuning of legal aspects of dangerous cargo transportation at

A Manual of Tests and Criteria on the Transport of Dangerous Goods was also compiled that classified dangerous goods. This manual made transportation procedures much simple for all parties.

2) International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG)

The IMO first adopted the IMDG Code in 1965 and it was later amended numerous times. The Code has 9 classes of dangerous goods depending on their nature. It also has detailed provisions for the precautions to be taken in each step involved in the maritime transportation of dangerous goods thus ensuring safety of ships and preventing marine pollution.

The main part of IMDG Code became binding under the SOLAS from 2004 including packaging instructions and marine pollutants. Although still a part of the Code remains recommendatory. An important thing to note about the IMDG Code is that it applied to only package dangerous goods but does not address bulk liquid chemicals or gas