The Permanent Technical Committee II (PTC II) of the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (PIANC) published in 1985 a report on Handling of Dangerous Goods in Ports””, presented by Working Group no 4, with Mr Per Olson of Sweden as Chairman.
The concern for safe handling and transport of dangerous cargoes in ports has over the past ten years attracted international attention by port-countries. Several countries have worked out regulations for handling, storage and transport of dangerous cargoes in port areas based on recommendations offered in the PTCII/WG4 report, and on the recommendations and guides published by IMO.
Since the publication of this report, major changes have affected the traffic of dangerous cargoes through ports. New regulations came into force, the traffic of dangerous cargoes has increased substantially, the perception of safety has increased due to legislative reasons but also due to a public opinion more and more concerned about environment.
In mid 1996, the PTCII decided to update the PIANC recommendations on this subject.
The terms of reference of this Working Group were as follows :
“”The study should lead to guidelines to port designers and port operators in order to indicate how to handle, store and transport dangerous cargoes in ports in order to avoid hazardous situations for the environment and the adjoining areas. The recommendations of the working group will be founded upon the safety rules and regulations already in force in the countries which are PIANC members and they will be presented as international-orientated guidelines.””
The WG35 members decided not to repeat the various existing nationally and internationally recognised documents on the subject, but to refer to them, to a large extent, in order to draw attention to them.
This report therefore provides the most complete possible reference to such guides and reconunendations. The reader is urged to obtain the relevant ones and to study them as a complement to this report. This applies especially to the IMO”s “”Recommendations on the Safe Transport of Dangerous Cargoes and Related Activities”” (IMO 1995)””.
This report mainly focuses on the planning and construction aspects while also addressing the other considerations relating to the issue of dangerous cargoes in ports.
The annexes, apart from the already mentioned very extensive bibliography, focus on several specific topics which were not dealt with extensively in the other documents such as Intermediate keeping. Finally, they give a short overview of the use of Information Technologies (IT) in the field of the transport of dangerous cargoes. It is clear that IT brings about a real revolution in the distribution of data pertaining to dangerous cargoes by facilitating quick access to various databases should the need arise and better targeted actions, for maximum efficiency.
Generally speaking, one of the most important tasks of port managers is to install a high degree of safety consciousness into the management of their port. A port authority or berth operator which would spend considerable amounts of money to equip its port with all kinds of costly accident-preventive appliances without developing safety consciousness within its organisation would probably simply waste the money spent. One could even go so far as to say that if a good safety consciousness exists within the port, some preventive appliances could be unnecessary. It is obvious that if management itself does not show concern for safety, the terminal operators and quay operating personnel will not do so either. People in charge of the various facets of the operations must ensure that nothing fails, that every man does his job in a proper manner, that he is properly trained and given the right equipment. This will result in well motivated personnel willing to do their best. The entire organisation will not only gain in safety but also in efficiency. The money spent on safety will therefore provide a good return on investment.”
