Cargo Integrity Group Calls on Governments to Report Findings of Container Inspections and on IMO to Continue Publishing Them

The Cargo Integrity Group (CIG) is calling on national administrations to carry out and report the findings of their container inspection programmes, and for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to continue collating and publishing the results in a publicly accessible form, to support efforts to improve safety in the carriage of goods by sea.

Under resolutions adopted more than 20 years ago member governments of the IMO agreed to conduct routine inspections of freight containers and the cargoes packed in them in a consistent way. The findings are to be submitted annually to IMO for collation and reporting so that a global picture of levels of compliance with international regulations and recommended practices can be obtained, and any appropriate safety improvements identified.
An analysis by partner organisations in the Cargo Integrity Group reveals that less than 5 per cent of 167 national administrations covered by the agreement are regularly submitting the results of their inspections to IMO in publicly available form. Whilst applauding the diligence of those governments making regular submissions, the Cargo Integrity Group is concerned at the overall low numbers of reports as this means that insufficient data is available for IMO or industry to draw reliable conclusions, fundamentally undermining efforts to improve the safety and sustainability of shipments by sea.

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