By Hauwa Ali
The International Maritime organisation, IMO, has concluded training of stakeholders in the port industry on Preventing loss of containers.
The Training was held in Accra, Ghana from 5-9 September for officials from nine west and central African countries.
Representatives from Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone attended the program.
IMO ran the event with the Ghana Maritime Authority to support the full implementation of relevant requirements/recommendations, namely:
* Amendments to SOLAS regulations VI/2.4 to VI/2.6 regarding requirements for the verification of the gross mass (VGM) of packed containers (SOLAS VGM requirements), which entered into force on 1 July 2016.
* The IMO/ILO/UNECE CTU Code (MSC.1/Circ.1497) and the associated informative material (MSC.1/Circ.1498).
* The Due diligence checklist in identifying providers of CTU-related services (MSC.1/Circ.1531).
* The revised ISO 1161 (Series 1 freight containers – Corner fittings – Specifications) and ISO 3874 (Series 1 freight containers – Handling and securing) and
* Best practices for preventing the use of counterfeit refrigerants.
The workshop was also attended by officials from container terminals, port authorities, stevedores, local shippers and cargo forwarding agents, maritime administrations, the national competent authority for container safety, and authorities responsible for certification of weights and measures.