CINS Issues New Guidelines for Safe Carriage of Charcoal

The Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS), an initiative led by the container shipping industry, has released new guidelines to ensure the safe transport of charcoal in shipping containers. These guidelines come in response to nearly 70 fires aboard container ships caused by misdeclared charcoal shipments between January 2015 and December 2022.

According to CINS, “Most of these incidents also arose from consignments that had been misdeclared and therefore the carrier was not aware of the hazards presented.”

Charcoal, commonly used for cooking, is a self-heating material that can generate excessive heat. If this heat is not properly dissipated, it can lead to fires once the material reaches its self-ignition temperature. One of the main concerns is that charcoal may be sold under various trade names, obscuring its true nature and the associated risks.

CINS advises shipping carriers to adopt stringent cargo screening processes and perform “know your customer” due diligence to ensure that shipments are accurately classified and declared. This will help carriers identify hazardous cargo and transport it safely.

Previously, shippers could provide a laboratory test confirming that charcoal cargo was not dangerous, but this practice left vessels vulnerable to fire risks. However, new amendments to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code will soon require charcoal to be declared and transported according to specific safety guidelines outlined in the code.

The changes come after it was determined that charcoal is prone to spontaneous combustion, which can cause container fires during transit. The updated CINS guidelines recommend that after production, unpackaged or loose charcoal should undergo weathering—being stored under cover but exposed to the open air—for at least 14 days before being packaged for shipping.

Additionally, the guidelines specify that the temperature of any part of the charcoal cargo must not exceed 40 degrees Celsius on the day of packaging. It is strongly advised that thermal cameras be used throughout the packaging process to continuously monitor the temperature, reducing the risk of a fire during transport.