Global Bauxite Working Group Research Report tops IMO Sub-Committee agenda next week

Overview

BIMCO will be attending the IMO in London for the 4th session of the Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC), which will be held from 11 to 15 September 2017.

At the top of the sub-committee’s agenda and of interest to members, there will be the review of the global bauxite working group (GBWG)’s research report and the IMO Correspondence group’s report in relation to the carriage of bauxite in bulk. The IMO correspondence group, which BIMCO has been actively participating, was tasked to look into the carriage requirements of bauxite cargoes;  in particular those that could be subject to liquefaction tendencies. This work arose after the incident with the loss of Bulk Jupiter and 18 crew members in the South China Sea in January 2015 carrying a shipment of bauxite.

It is expected that a wide discussion will ensue due to the GBWG’s  finding that bauxite cargoes are not subject to liquefaction but to another phenomenon called the dynamic separation process; another moisture-related cargo instability process which is not regulated in the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code.

Other IMSBC-code related matters, like proposed amendments to seed cakes entries, non-hazardous ammonium nitrate based fertilizers and proposed new entry of “Metal Sulphide concentrates, self-heating, UN 3190” will also be discussed at this meeting.

All matters relating to the IMSBC Code have also a direct impact on our on-line Solid Cargo Database for members which now contains more than 200 entries. The BIMCO Cargo Database always contains the latest amendment or new cargoes agreed and adopted for the IMSBC Code at IMO. 

The CCC 4 will also be considering under a separate agenda item, the report of the correspondence group on development of technical provisions for the safety of ships using low-flashpoint fuels (IGF Code) and other related submissions fuels.     

A brief report on the outcome of the meeting will be published shortly after the meeting closes.

Background 

The Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC), considers technical and operational matters relating to the carriage of cargoes, ie, solid bulk and gas cargoes, packaged dangerous goods and containers. Effective implementation of the relevant conventions, codes and other instruments, mandatory or recommendatory, as appropriate, dealing with cargo operations, evaluation of safety and pollution hazards of these cargoes and survey and certification of ships carrying hazardous cargoes are some of the matters under the sub-committee’s purview. The further enhancement of safety and security culture, together with environmental consciousness in all cargo and container operations are also considered by the sub-committee.

Ai Cheng Foo-Nielsen
in Copenhagen, DK

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