Dangerous Goods Handling

Dangerous Goods (DG) means the substances, materials, and articles that can harm people, other living organisms, property, or the environment. The transportation of such goods is regulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is a specialized agency of the United Nations.

IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security, and environmental performance of international shipping. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, and is universally adopted and implemented.

IMDG Code, or International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, is accepted as an international guideline for the safe transportation or shipment of dangerous goods or hazardous materials by water on vessel. IMDG Code is intended to protect crew members and to prevent marine pollution in the safe transportation of hazardous materials by vessel.

The implementation of the Code is mandatory in conjunction with the obligation of the members of United Nations – noting that Jordan is a member – under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78). It is intended for use not only by the mariner but also by all those involved in industries and services connected with shipping contains advice on terminology, packaging, labeling, placarding, markings, stowage, segregation, handling, and emergency response.

With the relevant Jordanian Local Authorities, ACT has adopted dangerous cargo handling procedures in compliance with the IMDG code, as well as international and national regulations.

 

The Shipping Agent is responsible for any damages resulting from the violation of these procedures. ACT is entitled to take legal action against the Shipping Agent and reject further booking of IMO cargo by the Shipping Agent who disregarded or violated the procedure. In accordance with Jordan’s local regulations (ASEZA), ACT has the right to refuse the entry of a leaking DG container into the Terminal (for export) or the discharge from a ship (for import). Hazardous Wastes are not allowed as per the Basel convention. Special authorization must be requested and received from the relevant departments, such as ASEZA and the Ministry of Environment, before cargo is loaded on the ship at the port origin.

Dangerous Goods Handling Procedure:

The handling processes of the different types of DG cargo are as follows:

1. DG which can be stored at ACT yards (ST).
2. DG which cannot be stored at ACT and must be discharged on Direct Delivery basis from ship to truck (import) or loaded from truck to ship (export) either under ACT Safety committee supervision (abbreviated as DD), or under Security Committee supervision (abbreviated as SC).

The Shipping Agent MUST strictly adhere to the following steps for IMPORTING or EXPORTING DG containers:

1. Shipping Agent must always declare Dangerous Goods to ACT:
The Shipping Agent must provide ACT’s Planning department and ACT’s Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) department the following documents by email to Safety@act.com.jo cc Planners@act.com.jo at least 24 hours before vessel arrival:

• Dangerous Goods Arrival Declaration Form for imports (DG Declaration Form for exports).
• MSDS (upon request, if not already provided to ACT for a previous shipment).

It is the Shipping Agent’s responsibility to gather the necessary accurate information about the dangerous cargo from the shipper (for export) or the consignee (for import).

In above cases, close coordination with ACT’s Planning department is required.

2. Shipping Agents must receive a confirmation of the acceptance of the DG containers and the procedure that will be followed (ST, DD or SC) from ACT’s HSSE Department.
• In case of DD or SC direct delivery, truck/s should be available at least two hours before the crane starts working in the bay in which the DG container/s is/are stowed.
• In case of SC direct delivery, the clearing agent must also arrange for security committee members to be on-site prior to entering the DG container/s into ACT Terminal (for export) or discharging the DG container/s from the vessel to the truck (for import).
• For import: The clearing agent must report to the HSSE department to fill-in a DG Transportation declaration form.
• For export: Create an IMO booking on N4 CAP and update DG container/s information into the system precisely and accurately.

All containers carrying hazardous cargo/s will be charged as per item (7) in the published ACT tariff. This charge will also be applicable on all empty containers that have been carrying hazardous cargo, if not provided with the cleaning certificate prior delivery to ACT.

Fines for undeclared, wrongly declared, late declaration, poorly stowed, or incorrectly packed Dangerous Goods will apply as per item (15) of ACT public tariffs  Further legal actions may be taken by ACT should the risk caused by the DG misdeclaration justify further actions.