Load Distribution and Load Restraint in Seafreight Container Guidelines

Load Distribution and Load Restraint in Seafreight Container Guidelines

1. Introduction:
2. Load distribution and load restraint are critical aspects of shipping goods in seafreight containers. Proper load distribution ensures the container's structural integrity, while load restraint prevents cargo shifting during transportation. This document provides guidelines in accordance with the CTU codes and the container handbook to ensure safe and secure transport of goods.
3. Container Handbook and CTU Codes:
4. The container handbook is a comprehensive guide outlining best practices for container shipping. It provides information on container types, load capacities, and handling procedures. The CTU codes (Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units) are internationally recognized guidelines related to the safe packing and securing of cargo in containers.
5. Load Distribution:
6. 3.1. Determine Container Type: Understand the specific container type you are using, such as a standard dry container, high cube container, refrigerated container, or specialized container. Refer to the container handbook to identify load capacity and dimensions.
7. 3.2. Weight Distribution: Distribute the cargo weight evenly across the container to maintain stability. Avoid concentrated loads or overweighting one area. Calculate the container's maximum payload based on its designated weight limit (as specified in the container handbook).
8. 3.3. Stacking and Vertical Load Distribution: If stacking cargo, ensure it is set up securely and does not exceed the maximum stacking weight recommended in the container handbook. Heavy items should be placed on the floor, and lighter items can be stacked on top. Plan the stacking sequence in order of loading and unloading to distribute weight evenly.
9. 3.4. Securing Cargo: Secure the cargo with appropriate blocking, bracing, or dunnage to prevent movement and dampen vibrations. Use suitable materials like airbags, wooden dunnage, or strapping as per CTU code recommendations.
10. Load Restraint:
11. 4.1. Packaging: Ensure the cargo is properly packaged before loading it into the container. Follow packaging guidelines specified in the container handbook to maintain the integrity and stability of the goods.
12. 4.2. Cargo Securing: Use lashing and securing methods recommended in the CTU codes. This might include using chains, ropes, or webbing straps. Make sure to distribute the securing points evenly across the cargo to avoid excessive strain on certain areas.
13. 4.3. Blocking and Bracing: Install suitable blocking and bracing materials to prevent cargo movement in all directions (horizontal, vertical, and longitudinal). Utilize materials like friction mats, braces, or inflatable airbags as per CTU code suggestions.
14. 4.4. Special Considerations: Address special requirements for hazardous materials, fragile goods, or perishable items. Comply with relevant regulations, such as IMDG Code for dangerous goods.
15. Inspection and Verification:
16. 5.1. Pre-Loading Inspection: Perform a thorough inspection of the container and cargo before loading. Check container integrity, cleanliness, and functionality of door locking mechanisms.
17. 5.2. Load Verification: Ensure proper load distribution and restraint by measuring and verifying weight distribution with load cells or similar equipment. Confirm that securing methods are effective and cargo is stable.
18. 5.3. Documentation: Document load distribution and load restraint details for reference and regulatory compliance. Include weight certificates, cargo securing plans, and any relevant certificates or permits.

Remember, this document provides general guidelines for load distribution and load restraint in seafreight containers. Always consult the specific container handbook and the CTU codes for detailed requirements and recommendations based on your container type, cargo characteristics, and international shipping regulations.

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Despite approval of the?IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code)?in 2014 and considerable efforts since to promote its use, incidents connected to container shipping are unfortunately still commonplace.

The intensified volume and movement of international traded goods can spread plant pests and diseases with associated risks to plant health, agriculture, and biodiversity worldwide.?Containers and their cargoes?acting as vectors for invasive pests, like the Asian Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar), the Khapra Beetle (Trogoderma granarium) and the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug (Halyomorpha halys), are an increasing concern. Deficient?cleaning and treatment of containers?as well as ignorance of the importance of correct storage and handling of goods prior to and during stuffing in containers may not only facilitate the spread of plant pests to new areas, but also compromise the safety of workers and infrastructure. There have also been several widely reported fires aboard containerships, where containerised cargoes may have been the cause. Container stack failures, vehicle roll-overs, train derailments, internal cargo collapses and incidents of invasive pest contamination, can all too often be traced to poor packing practices.

Increasing awareness

The CTU Code is a non-mandatory global code of practice for the handling and packing of cargo transport units, including shipping containers, for transportation by land and sea, designed to promote best practice and assist all actors involved in the global supply chain. Greater awareness and adherence to the CTU Code would significantly reduce incidents, some of which have resulted in fatalities and serious injuries, as well as minimise the phytosanitary risks associated with international trade. However, whilst the CTU Code is an unparalleled source of good practice and contains most of what all parties in the supply chain need to know to pack, handle and transport a container safely, it may not be realistic to expect every person in the supply chain to go through and learn the almost 300-page long compendium. That is why, with the endorsement of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), five international freight transport and cargo handling organisations have come together to collaborate on new, accessible guidance on packing standards for freight containers and other cargo transport units.

The Container Owners Association, the Global Shippers Forum, the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association, Trough Transport Club and the World Shipping Council are co-operating on a range of activities to drive the adoption and implementation of crucial safety practices throughout the global supply chain.

Quick Guide and Checklist published

The group have published handy and accessible guides in several languages and are driving awareness through on-line information sessions and promotion. These guidelines are free for all actors in the supply chain to use for training and reference.

The “Quick Guide” to the CTU Code and the “Checklist” of actions and responsibilities for those packing cargoes in freight containers is available in three languages, with further translations under way:

CTU Code - a quick guide | Safe container packing practices for the global supply chain (ttclub.com)

The Quick Guide contains specific instruction when it comes to carrier, shipper and packer responsibilities for ensuring that containers and their cargoes are free from visible pest contamination, reflected also in the Checklist.

Do your part!

If all parties in the supply chain have a good understanding of the fundamental principles for safe and secure container packing, handling and transport and, importantly, abide by them, we can avoid a great deal of pain, suffering and cost.

Do your part by using and sharing these resources!

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CTU Code

Quick Guide to the CTU Code

Working extensively with partners in the Cargo Integrity Group (BIC, COA, FIATA, GSF, ICHCA, TT Club & WSC), we have compiled ‘CTU Code – a quick guide’ as a route-map for the broad industry to engage more successfully with the CTU Code and to assist wider understanding of good packing practices.

Using diagrams aimed to clarify the entire process and icons to emphasise key do’s and don’ts, the condensed text follows the end-to-end cargo packing process, in much the same way as the CTU Code itself, with appropriate references to the full Code.

Container Packing Checklist

The Cargo Integrity Group has devised this added-value clear process checklist for intermodal freight containers for safe packing and avoidance of pest contamination based on CTU Code. This checklist sequences the main check-points from a container packer’s perspective, supporting sound decision-making. Successful completion facilitates safe and secure dispatch of a container. Use of this can be in paper form or as an editable PDF; this may be retained as a record of the packing process for each packed container.

Download both the CTU Code?Quick Guide and the Container Packing Checklist below.

Introduction

The information contained in this document has been compiled with due attention to generally accepted good practice and specifically the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units, 2014 edition (CTU Code).

The purpose of this guide is to facilitate the proper packing, transport and unpacking of cargo transport units (CTUs), including freight containers. This information is intended to assist in planning and executing the packing of cargo so that its shipment will be satisfactory to the shipper, carrier and consignee. It will also help in the prevention of pest contamination and damage to CTUs and their cargoes transported by road, rail, and by ship.

The use of CTUs reduces certain physical hazards to which their contents are exposed. However, improper or careless packing of cargoes into or onto such units, or lack of proper blocking, bracing and lashing, may result in incidents during handling or transport causing injury, damage to the cargo itself, to the handling equipment, to the transport infrastructure or to the environment.

The types of cargo carried in CTUs (particularly freight containers) has expanded over the years and innovations in packaging, such as the use of flexitanks, and other recent developments allow heavy, bulky items, traditionally loaded directly into ships’ holds (e.g. stone, steel, waste materials and project cargoes), to be carried instead in CTUs. The person who packs and secures cargo into a CTU, and seals it, may be the last person to look inside that unit until it is opened at its final destination. Consequently, a great many people in the transport sector rely on the skill of such persons including:

? vehicle drivers and other road users;

? rail workers;

? crewmembers of inland waterway vessels;

? handling staff and dockworkers at ports/terminals when the unit is transferred from one conveyance to another;

? the ship’s crew;

? those who inspect cargoes; and

? those who unpack the unit at its destination.

In addition, the general public may be at risk from a poorly packed CTU resulting in a road accident or train derailment. Just how important it is to ensure cargo is properly packed and restrained for its journey can be seen in the photographs illustrating the consequences of improper packing procedures shown in the Informative Material section of the CTU Code, IM1.

The information in this guide can only be of a general nature, as there are many different commodities and cargo types.

A checklist relating to packing of freight containers only (not other types of CTU) is included at Annex 1.

It should also be noted that the guidance in this publication is recommendatory.