Reminder of Documentation Requirement for Sea Transportation

Supporting your supply chain is of the utmost importance to us, hence we would like to highlight some of the important aspects when dangerous goods are prepared for transport. Except as otherwise provided, the consignor who offers dangerous goods for transport shall give the carrier applicable information on dangerous goods, including any additional information and documentation as specified in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code IMDG Section 5.4 - Documentation. This information may be provided on a dangerous goods transport document or, with the carrier's agreement by EDP (Electronic Data Processing) or EDI (Electronic Data Interface) techniques.

The transport document can be in any format, but it must contain the declaration details of the dangerous goods, the wording of the shipper’s declaration, and the wording of the packing certificate from the UN model in IMDG Chapter 5.4. The packing certificate may be on a separate document from the shipper’s declaration.

Information required on the dangerous goods transport document:

The dangerous goods transport document shall contain the information shown in table 1 for each dangerous substance, material, or article offered for transport.:

The five elements of the dangerous goods description specified below shall be shown in the order listed with no information interspersed, except as provided in IMDG code. Unless permitted or required by IMDG code, additional information shall be placed after the dangerous goods description.

Other Relevant Information

In addition to the above, when shipping particular dangerous goods products, the shipper must include on the dangerous goods declaration the following details.

A. Flash Point

If the liquid dangerous goods to be transported have a primary or subsidiary hazard of class 3 and a flashpoint of 60°C or below (in °C closed-cup (c.c.)), the minimum flashpoint shall be indicated.

Examples of dangerous goods descriptions with flashpoints:

• UN 1603, ETHYL BROMOACETATE 6.1 (3) II (58°C c.c.)
• UN 1603, ETHYL BROMOACETATE, class 6.1, (class 3), PG II, (58°C c.c.)

B. Marine Pollutant

If the goods to be transported are marine pollutants, the goods shall be identified as “MARINE POLLUTANT,” and for “not otherwise specified” (N.O.S.) entries the proper shipping name shall be supplemented with the recognized chemical name of the marine pollutant. The term “MARINE POLLUTANT” may be supplemented with the term “ENVIRONMENTALLY HAZARDOUS”

Examples of dangerous goods descriptions of marine pollutants:

• UN 1092, Acrolein, stabilized, class 6.1 (3), PG I, (-24°C c.c.), MARINE POLLUTANT/ENVIRONMENTALLY HAZARDOUS
• UN 2761, Organochlorine pesticide, solid, toxic, (Aldrin 19%), class 6.1, PG III, MARINE POLLUTANT

C. Total Quantity of Dangerous Goods

D. Limited Quantity

When dangerous goods are transported according to the exceptions for dangerous goods packed in limited quantities provided for in column 7a of the Dangerous Goods List and chapter 3.4, the words “limited quantity” or “LTD QTY” shall be included.

E. Container / Vehicle packing certificate:

When dangerous goods are packed or loaded into any container or vehicle, those responsible for packing the container or vehicle shall provide a “container/vehicle packing certificate” specifying the container/ vehicle identification number(s) and certifying that the operation has been carried out in accordance with certain conditions.

Additional Information

Emergency telephone numbers

Note, some countries including Canada have legislation requiring a 24-hour emergency number to be provided so it is always worth checking if this is required. As it appears on the shipper’s declaration: The telephone number should be entered on the shipper’s declaration in such a way that it cannot be confused with any part of the cargo description.

The words “24-Hour Number” or “Numéro 24 heures”, or an abbreviation of these words, followed by a telephone number, including the area code, at which the consignor can be reached immediately for technical information about the dangerous goods in transport, without breaking the telephone connection made by the caller.

Format should be:
EMERGENCY 24-Hour No +x-xxx-xxxx Country Code – Area Code – Phone Number

For further information, you can refer to below references:

• IMDG code 41-22
• TDG Regulations https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2001-286/page-15.html#h-1228787
• Book it right and pack it right

Please do not hesitate to reach out to your local Maersk representative should you have any questions.