News

ICHCA Severe Risks Dashboard – June 2025

ICHCA has updated its uniquely wide-ranging research on historic worldwide cargo related workplace fatalities covering the period 2000 to the present day. We aim to learn from what has happened in the past to better understand the most severe outcome risks in our industry; helping leaders at all levels to continuously improve how they do safety. By demonstrating the severity potential of these hazards we believe that organisations can: re-test existing management controls for focus, completeness and robustness re-affirm that work as imagined in procedures designed to address these essential risks actually translates into work as done on the ground engage with workforces and other stakeholders to seek well-managed, cooperative change and innovation The dataset covers over 500 fatalities involving port workers, contractors, visitors and other third parties from 2000 to June 2025. What the dashboard is telling us Crush by cargo is the leading historic cause of [...]

Hidden Dangers of Fire Initiating Cargoes Explained

The industry bodies of the Cargo Integrity Group expand on their concerns relating to cargoes that can catch fire and cause significant damage and casualties under certain conditions. Circumstances created by an alignment of mistakes, oversights, or failed controls can turn a minor incident into a major event. Following its identification of ‘cargoes of concern’*, the Cargo Integrity Group (the Group) now focuses on the issues that may commonly compromise safety by initiating or proliferating fire under certain conditions. It is recognized that many of the cargoes in this category, labelled ‘reactive hazards’ already fall within the scope of Dangerous Goods regulations. These regulations start from the premise that the transport of Dangerous Goods is prohibited – except in accordance with the details of the regulations. However, incidents still occur too frequently; as the judge in one casualty litigation explained, disasters are only infrequent due to a “lack of [...]

ICHCA Insights – June 2025

Latest edition of "ICHCA Insights" available For the latest edition of our monthly newsletter “ICHCA Insights” please Click here For previous newsletters click here: https://ichca.com/newsletters

ICHCA May 2025 Press Clippings

We are delighted to share with you the press clippings for May 2025. By working with the media we can be the voice of our sector, raising awareness and sharing learning with industry and other stakeholders. The press clippings have been collated by Portcare International. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PRESS CLIPPINGS

ICHCA Supports Global Lifting Awareness Day 2025 – Lifting Safety Into Focus

ICHCA International is proud to support Global Lifting Awareness Day (GLAD) 2025, led by the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) on Thursday 12 June. GLAD 2025 Insights Webinar: "Turning Industry Voices into Action" 12 June 2025 Register Now ICHCA is once again proud to support Global Lifting Awareness Day (GLAD) alongside our partners at the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA). As a global campaign, GLAD aims to promote safe lifting practices, awareness, and leadership throughout the industry. As part of our contribution to this international effort, ICHCA is pleased to spotlight essential guidance, tools, and training materials to help advance lifting safety in ports and cargo operations worldwide.  We encourage you to explore ICHCA’s resources on lifting safety such as: Safe Lifting of ISO Containers and Tanks Using Hooks and Wires and Members’ Area content developed jointly with LEEA such as: Organisation of Gear Stores and Guidance on the [...]

Member Benefit: Complimentary Delegate Places at Asean Ports & Logistics 2025 – Jakarta, Indonesia

We would like to announce the latest member benefit in partnership with Transport Events: Asean Ports & Logistics 2025. We have secured an exclusive opportunity forfive complimentary ICHCA Member delegate places, each valued at €1,995, for this prestigious event. If you would like to attend, please email secretariat@ichca.com to secure your spot. We need your confirmation by 19 June 2025, subject to availability, so don’t miss out! Transport Events are delighted to announce that ASEAN Ports and Logistics 2025Exhibition and Conference hosted by PELINDO and supported by The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Indonesia (CILT-ID) will take place from Tuesday 1 July to Thursday 3 July 2025 at the luxurious 5 star JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta, Indonesia. Jakarta is a vibrant city with a rich cultural heritage and dynamic economic landscape as the largest annual Ports and Logistics trade event for the ASEAN region, this presents an unmissable [...]

ICHCA Technical Panel Barcelona – Meeting Report Now Available

The report of the 88th ICHCA Technical Panel meeting, held in Barcelona on 19 May 2025 is now available to members. The session brought together a strong community of technical, safety, and operational leaders for a day of open dialogue, practical workshops, and strategic collaboration. The report summarises key discussions and presentations, including developments in dangerous goods handling, international accident data sharing, lashing safety, e-learning, and innovations in mooring and decarbonisation.  Members can find the presentation slides in the members’ area. We would like to thank all speakers, participants, and contributors for their valuable input and engagement. Your support continues to shape ICHCA’s work in improving safety and operational excellence across the cargo handling sector. Should you have any questions or wish to follow up on specific items in the report, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Click here to see the report, presentations, programme and photos on [...]

ICHCA Member G2 Ocean, latest Safety Bulletin – Failed barriers cause fatality (also available in Portuguese)

The latest edition of G2 Ocean's Safety Bulletin is about a fatality. One of their customers has informed them about this tragic incident. It did not happen on a G2 Ocean vessel, but G2 Ocean operate vessels with this type of hatch covers and want the lessons learned to reach as many stevedores and seafarers as possible. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SAFETY BULLETIN IN ENGLISH CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SAFETY BULLETIN IN PORTUGESE Message from G2 Ocean: "We in G2 Ocean work with stevedores all over the world. By sharing lessons learned on safety between companies and ports, we believe we can reduce the number of incidents and personal injuries in our industry. It is part of G2 Ocean’s desired safety culture to always seek and share insights on safety. We thank all stevedore companies who have signed up for our monthly Safety Bulletin! All [...]

Japan’s Carbon Neutral Ports (CNP) Initiative Presented at ICHCA AGM

Yusuke Suemune of Japan’s Ports and Harbours Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) today outlined in detail his Government’s plans to achieve carbon net zero by 2050 at all Japanese ports via its Carbon Neutral Ports (CNP) initiative backed by a CNP certification process. The presentation given today in Barcelona as part of the ICHCA AGM contained the announcement of MLIT’s launch in June of its Carbon Neutral Ports (CNP) Certification for container terminals. The Certification process will evaluate each terminal’s decarbonization efforts. Critically this assessment will be on a ‘per-terminal’ rather than a ‘per-port’ basis. The Certification will be multi-faceted. Each element geared toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. As Suemune outlined, the process of decarbonization will involve evaluation of a wide variety of stratagems including low-emission handling equipment and LED lighting on the terminal operation side and efforts concerning carriers, such as zero emission [...]

Latest “TT Talk” Articles Available – May 2025

The TT Club regularly provides informative, timely material on critical health, safety, security and environmental matters designed to help industry continually improve its performance. We are delighted to share the latest from TT Club in the TT Talk series. New TT Talk articles available below: TT Talk - Storm Warning: another active Atlantic hurricane season predicted Another above-average season for Atlantic hurricanes is expected in 2025, reflecting the increasing volatility of global weather systems due to climate change. The forecast serves as reminder to ports, terminals and warehouses to check the robustness of their storm- preparedness procedures as well as their insurance cover for extreme weather events and other weather- related natural disasters. TT - Vehicle Carrier Safety Forum publishes guidance on fire response The Vehicle Carrier Safety Forum (VCSF) publishes its second industry good practice guidelines entitled 'Fire Response — High Level Guidelines', designed to reduce [...]

Current Awareness Bulletin – for IMO themes and news – April 2025

The latest edition of the Current Awareness Bulletin is attached. The Bulletin provides a monthly digest of news and publications focusing on subjects and themes related to the work of IMO with each edition presenting headlines from the previous month. Links to complete articles or abstracts on publishers' sites are included, although access may require payment or subscription. The Bulletin itself is free to download and to redistribute. CLICK HERE FOR THE CURRENT AWARENESS BULLETIN - April 2025 This edition along with the back catalogue is available at:https://www.imo.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Pages/CurrentAwarenessBulletin-Default.aspx The Current Awareness Bulletin is compiled by the IMO Maritime Knowledge Centre but is not an official IMO publication. Inclusion does not imply any endorsement by IMO.

ICHCA Insights – May 2025

Latest edition of "ICHCA Insights" available For the latest edition of our monthly newsletter “ICHCA Insights” please Click here For previous newsletters click here: https://ichca.com/newsletters

Crucial amendment to IMDG Code on Ammonium Nitrate sanctioned by the IMO

The global cargo handling association ICHCA International (ICHCA) welcomes the recent IMO decision to amend a key aspect of the IMDG Code governing ammonium nitrate shipments to significantly improve their safe transportation by sea and highlights its importance as part of the association’s Dangerous Goods Awareness campaign. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has approved changes to its maritime safety regulations in the form of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code to improve the safety of ammonium nitrate transport by sea. ICHCA is drawing attention to the move, as well as other changes to the IMDG Code designed to improve safety when shipping handling and carrying dangerous goods via its awareness campaign throughout 2025. This particular change affects Clause 7.6.2.8.4 and reinforces that carriage of UN 1942 Ammonium Nitrate and UN 2067 Ammonium Nitrate Based Fertilizer under deck is only permitted if hatches including tween deck hatches are capable [...]

Current Awareness Bulletin – for IMO themes and news – March 2025

The latest edition of the Current Awareness Bulletin is attached. The Bulletin provides a monthly digest of news and publications focusing on subjects and themes related to the work of IMO with each edition presenting headlines from the previous month. Links to complete articles or abstracts on publishers' sites are included, although access may require payment or subscription. The Bulletin itself is free to download and to redistribute. CLICK HERE FOR THE CURRENT AWARENESS BULLETIN - March 2025 This edition along with the back catalogue is available at:https://www.imo.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Pages/CurrentAwarenessBulletin-Default.aspx The Current Awareness Bulletin is compiled by the IMO Maritime Knowledge Centre but is not an official IMO publication. Inclusion does not imply any endorsement by IMO.

Shipping charcoal in containers new rules begin from 2025

Today we spotlight the changes to the IMDG Code relating to Charcoal. Thanks to CINS, International Group of P&I Clubs, TT Club and World Shipping Council for sharing much of today’s content and leading by example. “… at least 68 fire incidents on board ships during the period between January 2015 and December 2022… exclusively involved consignments of Charcoal that were produced to be a used as a fuel intended for burning. Most of these incidents also arose from consignments that had been misdeclared and therefore the carrier was not aware of the hazards presented.” ‘Guidelines for the Safe Carriage of Charcoal in Containers’ CINS in conjunction with the International Group of P& I Clubs and the TT Club Sept 2024 From the start of 2025 with IMDG Code Amendment 42-24 becoming available for use, tighter rules for charcoal shipments are transitioning into place to improve the safety of [...]

ICHCA Member G2 Ocean, latest Safety Bulletin – No drugs, no alcohol (also available in Portuguese)

The latest edition of G2 Ocean's Safety Bulletin about the hazards of working under the influence of drugs or alcohol can be found on the links below: CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SAFETY BULLETIN IN ENGLISH CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SAFETY BULLETIN IN PORTUGESE Message from G2 Ocean: "We in G2 Ocean work with stevedores all over the world. By sharing lessons learned on safety between companies and ports, we believe we can reduce the number of incidents and personal injuries in our industry. It is part of G2 Ocean’s desired safety culture to always seek and share insights on safety. We thank all stevedore companies who have signed up for our monthly Safety Bulletin! All our vessels receive a copy. The crew work closely together with the stevedores in port, and the topics are relevant also for them. The bulletin is also sent to the G2 Ocean [...]

Latest “TT Talk” Articles Available – April 2025

The TT Club regularly provides informative, timely material on critical health, safety, security and environmental matters designed to help industry continually improve its performance. We are delighted to share the latest from TT Club in the TT Talk series. New TT Talk articles available below: TT Talk - How to avoid catastrophic losses from warehouse fires Effective fire risk assessment and loss prevention plans are crucial to reduce these risks and ensure the safety and continuity of operations. This article looks at various ways to mitigate the risk of warehouse fires. TT Talk - Why automated warehouses are safer places to work Effective fire risk assessment and loss prevention plans are crucial to reduce these risks and ensure the safety and continuity of operations. This article looks at various ways to mitigate the risk of warehouse fires.

Day 4 – ICHCA’s introductory guide to the IMDG Code now updated for Amendment 42-24

New Guidance Released: Overview of the IMDG Code (BP3) – Amendment 42-24 As part of ICHCA’s Dangerous Goods work, we are pleased to announce the release of an updated version of our essential guidance document: "Overview of the Provisions in the IMDG Code – Amendment 42-24." This update reflects the latest changes introduced in Amendment 42-24 of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, ensuring our members stay fully informed and compliant with evolving regulations. Keeping up to date with these amendments is critical for safety, compliance, and operational efficiency in the global cargo supply chain. Why This Update Matters The IMDG Code is revised every two years, incorporating important regulatory and safety developments. This latest amendment, which becomes mandatory from January 2026, introduces updates across several key areas, including: ✔ Classification and labelling of dangerous goods ✔ Packaging, marking, and documentation requirements ✔ Stowage and segregation rules for [...]

Day 3 – IMDG Code Amendment 42-24 summary of main changes

Particular thanks to ICHCA member NCB HAZCHECK for their analysis of changes in Amendment 42-24. Today we look at what has changed in the new edition of the IMDG Code. The following content tries to summarise those changes. It gets into the detail and assumes a degree of knowledge of the 950 plus pages of the Code. This is not a full list of all the changes being introduced. Full details and applicable provisions are in the new text of Amendment 42-24. Summary of Key Changes: Part 1: General Provisions – Definitions Updated definition for recycled plastics material (now mentions IBCs) (1.2). A new definition for “degree of filling” has been added (1.2). Data loggers etc. used in transport are now called “Devices containing dangerous goods” (1.1.1.10) (previously they were “DG in equipment”) Part 2: Classification UN 3555 has been added to the list of liquid desensitized explosives. One [...]

Member Benefit: GreenTech for Ports and Terminals Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, 29 – 30 April 2025

As the world accelerates its journey toward net-zero emissions, the maritime industry is stepping up its efforts with an innovative approach to sustainability. The upcoming GreenTech for Ports and Terminals conference stands as a guiding light on the road to net zero. The third edition of this conference will take place on 29 – 30 April 2025 at Scandic Göteborg Central, Gothenburg, Sweden. Across two days, attendees will hear from experts within the field as they speak on the latest regulations, trends and best practices for approaching zero emission strategies and operations, along with showcasing new emission-cutting equipment and solutions. The conference agenda is filled with C-level keynotes and panel discussions focusing on decarbonisation and environmental harm, as well as encouraging collaboration to ensure the industry’s sustainability goals are met. The speaker line-up of influential industry figures will provide evidence and understanding for ports and terminals as they build [...]

Day 2 – How the International Maritime Organisation’s amendment cycle continuously updates the IMDG Code

The IMO brings together 176 member states, 66 intergovernmental organisations and 89 non-governmental organisations, addressing 50 conventions and protocols. These include but are not limited to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea[1] (SOLAS), The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code. IMDG and IMSBC are continually being updated and IMO has a standing programme alternating priority; one year for IMDG and the next for IMSBC. The work is governed through the rules of the IMO and the work of its Maritime Safety Committee and IMO Council. There are several sub-committees addressing different safety and environmental matters with some overlapping work. But for IMDG the lead is Carriage of Cargo and Containers (CCC). A meeting of CCC will typically field over 100 papers of varying [...]

Member Event: Intermodal Container Terminal Conference (ICTC), Düsseldorf, Germany on 23 – 24 April 2025

Join the intermodal community at the inaugural Intermodal Container Terminal Conference (ICTC) taking place at the Hilton Düsseldorf, Germany on 23 – 24 April 2025. This brand-new event has been curated specifically for Intermodal Terminals, offering two days of dedicated content and networking. ICTC is the first event of its kind to explore the unique challenges and opportunities facing Inland Ports and Terminals – while showcasing the emerging technologies helping terminals manage increasing volumes. Across the two-day programme, expect keynote addresses and panel discussions confronting the sector’s most pressing topics: resilient supply chains, digitalisation, the importance of collaboration, advantages of emerging technologies, and much more. Hear from leading voices in the industry, including: Kevin Gründer, Head of Terminal & Intermodal Strategy, duisport - Duisburger Hafen AG Frank Schneider, Operations Manager, Hutchison Ports Duisburg GmbH Ben Beirnaert, General Manager, Combinant nv Peter Schreyer, Managing Director, TriCon Terminal Chad Van Derrick, [...]