The 102nd meeting of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) adopted Amendments 40-20 to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. The amendment has made a number of revisions to chapters such as classification, packaging, and marking of dangerous goods, and will be enforced from June 1, 2022.

Major revisions of the 40-20 revision of the IMDG Rules

1. Major revisions to the list of dangerous goods

◆ The special provisions, packing guidelines and stowage isolation codes of more than 400 items in the Dangerous Goods List, including "UN 0005 Weapons and Cartridges with Explosive Charges", have been revised.

◆ Added "UN 0511 Electric detonator, programmable, for blasting (1.1B)", "UN 0512 Electric detonator, programmable, for blasting (1.4B)" and "UN 0513 Electric detonator, programmable, for blasting (1.4B)" 1.4S)" and "UN3549 Class A Medical Waste, Infectious to Humans, Solid or Class A Medical Waste, Infectious to Animals Only, Solid (6.2)" 4 new entries. The following is the relevant information about the new entries in the Dangerous Goods List of Amendments 40-20:

2. Major revisions to the conditions of transport of specific goods

◆ For the equipment containing dangerous goods in use or planned to be used during transportation, such as container temperature recorder, container radio frequency identification device (RFID), etc., a new chapter 5.5.4 is added and the structural requirements and exemption conditions of such equipment are clarified .

◆ For the revision of lithium battery transportation: (1) Adjust the minimum size of lithium battery marking in 5.2.1.10.2 from "120 mm wide x 110 mm high" to "100 mm wide x 100 mm high"; (2) in The definition of "damaged or defective lithium battery" is clarified in the special provision SP376; (3) the packaging that "contains both cells or batteries contained in the equipment and packaged with the equipment" is clarified in the packaging guideline P903 Require.

◆ The 17th column "Characteristics and Precautions" in the entries of UN 1361 (Charcoal, derived from animals or plants) and UN 1362 (Charcoal, active) has been revised to clarify the scope of application and cargo cooling requirements of the respective entries. The following are amendments to column 17 of the UN 1361 and UN 1362 entries in the 40-20 amendment:

3. Major revisions of documents, approval requirements of competent authorities and special provisions

◆ It is clearly stated in 5.4.1.4.3.6 that liquids with Class 3 sub-hazards, including flammable Class 5.2 organic peroxides, are transported, and their flash points need to be indicated in the document.

◆ Amendments in 5.4.1.5.18 for portable tanks containing refrigerated liquefied gas are as follows

(1) It is clear that the shipper must enter the end date of the actual maintenance time in the transport document;

(2) Clarify the exemption requirements for equipment with dangerous goods (such as data recorders and cargo tracking devices) used or planned to be used during transportation, including use status, equipment structure, and impact resistance;

(3) Lithium batteries or batteries that are clearly damaged or defective, and lithium batteries or batteries used for disposal or recycling, when transported in accordance with SP376 or SP377, shall be marked with "damaged or defective"/"used as appropriate". Lithium Batteries for Disposal"/"Lithium Batteries for Recycling".

◆ Revised 18 items including special provisions SP172, and added 8 special provisions including SP123.

(1) For 18 gas items such as UN 1002 (air, compressed), SP392 is revised to clarify the transportation conditions for such gas fuel storage systems;

(2) For 8 items including UN 2249 (dichlorodimethyl ether, symmetrical), SP76 was replaced by SP976, which clarified the approval requirements of relevant authorities when transporting related substances;

(3) For the entry of UN 3549, SP395 and SP975 are added to it, and the approval procedure of the competent authority before the transportation of such goods is clarified;

(4) Amendments .5 to .8, SP360, SP376 and SP380 in SP188 applicable to lithium battery goods to clarify the exemption conditions for single batteries installed in equipment and single batteries packaged with equipment, etc. content.

4. Packaging and tank regulations

The 40-20 Amendment to IMDG Rules revised 10 items including Packing Guide P003, 4 items including IBC520 Packing Guide for Intermediate Bulk Containers and LP200 Bulk Packing Guide.

◆ Added packing instruction P622 and bulk packing instruction LP622, applicable to UN 3549 entry; newly added packing instruction P801, applicable to storage battery entries such as UN 2794, UN 2795 and UN 3028; for special packing in packing instruction P003 Provision PP32 was revised and special packing provision PP96 was added, specifying the use of UN 2037 [Containers, small, filled with gas (gas cylinders), without release device, not refillable] and UN 3164 [Pneumatic or hydraulic articles, (including non-flammable gases)] packaging requirements for items transported; the special packaging provisions PP97 in the packaging guideline P206 are revised to clarify that the UN 3500 (Pressurized chemicals, not otherwise specified) items are packaged regularly The longest test period for inspection is 10 years; (5) is added to the Packaging Guideline P903, which clarifies the requirements for the inner packaging containing cells or batteries packaged with the equipment, the strength requirements for the outer packaging, and the equipment in the outer packaging. In the revision of the IBC520 packaging guideline for intermediate bulk containers, the UN number, type of IBC, emergency and control temperature of 2 organic peroxides are clarified. The following are the contents of the 2 new entries under UN 3119 in the IBC520 Packing Guidelines for Intermediate Bulk Containers

In addition, 4.1.1.3.1 has been added to clarify that packaging (including IBCs and bulk packaging) can conform to multiple inspection-qualified design types and can display multiple markings. At the same time, in 4.1.9.2.4, the transportation methods, stacking requirements, preventive measures and management measures of surface pollutants (SCO-III) are added.

Reminder

Affected by the epidemic, the 40-20 version of the amendment broke the previous practice of mandatory entry into force from January 1, even-numbered years, and adjusted the mandatory effective time to June 1, 2022, which also means that the 39-18 version The use of the amendments has also been extended to May 31, 2022. It is suggested that relevant shipping companies should always pay attention to and accurately grasp the time point when the rules will take effect, and prepare accordingly, especially clarify the requirements for the use of the corresponding version of the rules in the first half of 2022, so as to avoid confusion due to changes in the mandatory rules.