Multiplicity of governing authorities, lack of integration and scarcity of proper response mechanism pose a threat to handling and transportation of hazardous cargo.
Mishandling
and improper stowage of hazardous material have been the cause of
horrendous incidents, some of which are very difficult to forget. India
has had more than its share of such accidents. The most towering one
being the Bhopal gas tragedy in which methyl isocyanate gas and other
chemicals leaked out from the plant of Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL)
on the night of 3rd December 1984 leaving around 8,000 dead and over
500,000 people in Bhopal city injured or maimed for life.
It was in June 2010, seven ex-employees, including the former chairman of
UCIL, were convicted for causing death by negligence and sentenced to
two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each, the maximum
punishment allowed by law. The situation in India for such tragedies
happening again now is no different from what existed then and the
culprits can still get away with light sentences.
The International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG)
Code has not yet been ratified by India. What is worse is that there
are multiple regulators when it comes to transportation of hazardous
cargo. The Director General of Shipping, the Indian administration is
responsible only for shipping within the Indian territorial waters.
There is no common law or regulator for the inland transport by road or
rail, or for ports, etc. Major ports (which come under the federal
governments) and minor ports (under the jurisdiction of the state
governments) operate under different laws.
In this gloomy, obscure and manipulative environment
Capt Vivek Bhandarkar, CEO of Bhandarkar Events, has taken upon himself
the crusader’s role of creating awareness and at the same time offering guidance on the full range of regulatory compliance support options
to personnel who play the crucial role in handling hazardous cargo in
the shipping, ports, freight forwarding, multimodal and transport
operators, etc. He has been conducting regular conferences, seminars and
training courses on handling and transportation of hazardous materials
since 2004, when he started off with his first program in Mumbai. He has
been travelling the length and breadth of the country doing his best in
cultivating conscientious observance of preventive measures and proper
handling of hazardous cargo.
In his seminars like the one of 26th and 27th
April, 2013 he brings to focus various problems created because there
is no single authority as in the US where there is the Department of
Transport which is the regulatory authority for all modes of transport.
Stated R. Rajasekhar, Vice President (Commercial) United Phosphorus
Ltd., “Internationally the single authority system tells you what you
are expected to do when you undertake different functions, but in India
this is lacking as there are multiple governing authorities.”
Capt Deepak Kapoor, Deputy Nautical Advisor to the
Government of India and Deputy General of Shipping agreed about the
confusion that exists. He said, “Yes, because of the multiplicity of
governing authorities the integration is lacking and hence the desired
information is not known to the user. As for shipping we have the ISM
code which requires a specific plan. The major ports have the
Dock Safety, Health & Welfare Act which prescribes the safety norms
but not applicable to minor ports.”
Speaking
about the importance of various operating agencies Haresh Lalwani of
Sun Logistics informed about the lurking dangers in belittling
precautionary measures which actually compromises safety. There is the
inclination to cut corners, avoid precautionary measures considered
unnecessary in order to cut down costs, or to avoid lengthy procedures.
“This is foolish as it can be dangerous to everyone in the
transportation chain,” he says. He underscores the importance of
complying with various regulations as it benefits all.
In-depth information on the classification, guidelines and responsibilities under the International
Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code was lucidly explained by Shashi
Kallada, a specialist on handling hazardous cargo in India. Various
other aspects presented included packaging, preparedness of Indian ports
for HNS emergencies, carriage of hazardous and noxious substances by sea, importance of labeling, marking, storage and other related topics.
It
was pointed out that the port authorities now have a proper response
mechanism in place. There are nodal agencies which are monitoring the
response mechanism. The Directorate General of Shipping has asked the
port authorities to maintain a fleet of tugs ready at hand when such
vessels with hazardous cargo are allowed to berth. The terminals in
ports have also been advised to put in place adequate response mechanism
to deal with any contingencies occurring from such ships. Post to be found at:
http://www.maritimeprofessional.com/Blogs/Lurking-hazards-in-transporting-dangerous-goods/April-2013/Lurking-hazards-in-transporting-dangerous-goods.aspx
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