10 June 2024 (Lloyd's List) - FIFTEEN “cargoes of concern” that can cause damage and injury if transported improperly have been identified by the Cargo Integrity Group.

Lithium-ion batteries, bitumen and steel coils unsurprisingly all made the list. But other innocuous-sounding substances, such as fishmeal, wine and cotton, were also listed as potentially hazardous if handled incorrectly.

The group split the list into three categories: reactive hazards, cargoes that can catch fire under certain conditions, spill or leak risks, which can cause harm to those cleaning up the spill as well as the environment, and improper packing consequences, which can lead to injury or damage to nearby containers if not packed correctly.

Charcoal and carbon, lithium-ion batteries, cotton, fishmeal and seed cakes all fell under the reactive hazards category. Hides and skins, wine, bitumen, cocoa butter and vegetable oil were all named as spill or leak risks. Finally, logs and timber, marble and granite and steel coils all represent a risk if packed improperly.

The list has been complied using data from freight insurance provider TT Club, based on the claims history of the above cargoes.

“The combined experience of our organisations has been harnessed to identify these categories and result in pinpointing some commodities where the risks are perhaps less obvious,” said risk management director, TT Club, Peregrine Storrs-Fox.

“While the potential dangers of transporting, for example, calcium hypochlorite or lithium-ion batteries might be more widely appreciated, the combustible qualities of seed cake or the hazards associated with cocoa butter or vegetable oils, will be less well-known.”

The Cargo Integrity Group said it would publish additional guidance on the 15 cargoes listed in the coming months.