How our experts get on the trail of undeclared dangerous goods

Dangerous goods are in safe hands with us. Transporting them is only risky if they haven’t been declared as such. In the following interview, Ken Rohlmann, Senior Director Dangerous Goods (DG), describes the importance of DG and how the company’s experts detect hidden hazardous material.

Hapag-Lloyd plans to expand its business involving dangerous goods transports. How important is this business segment to the company?
Hapag-Lloyd is one of the absolute pioneers in the maritime transport of dangerous goods. In fact, our Dangerous Goods Department celebrated its 50th anniversary in March. These days, these kinds of transports are a very attractive niche product for us – and ones with quite a strategic importance. On the one hand, we boast a high degree of expertise in this specialized business segment, as we have internationally renowned dangerous goods experts based in our Regional headquarters in addition to the right tools and leading IT solutions. On the other hand, transporting dangerous goods is quite a lucrative business segment. And that’s why further expanding our dangerous goods business is an important part of Hapag-Lloyd’s Strategy 2023.

Which kinds of dangerous goods does Hapag-Lloyd transport? And is there also cargo that you reject?
Generally speaking, we transport everything that is legally permitted to transport. International dangerous goods regulations distinguish between nine classes of dangerous goods, each with its own specific risks. Some typical products that we ship are paints, airbags, fireworks, hairspray and adhesives, but there are also some harmless-sounding things, such as fish meal and batteries. We encounter many of these products in our everyday lives and can’t imagine life without them. Handling them is usually simple and doesn’t involve any major risks. But when several tonnes of these goods are transported in a sea container, the risk profile can definitely change. In any case, complying with the legal regulations is our top priority. Doing otherwise simply isn’t an option.

Hapag-Lloyd also reserves the right to not transport legal products if, after an in-depth analysis, we consider the potential risk involved with the transport to be too high. For example, this could involve Class 6.2 infectious substances or charcoal from Indonesia, which has caused many container fires.

What is the real level of risk involved in transporting dangerous goods?
Last year, Hapag-Lloyd transported almost 480,000 TEU of dangerous goods without any major incidents. That shows that we are very well prepared for this kind of cargo. However, dangerous goods that aren’t declared as such – whether out of ignorance or fraudulent intent – are quite a headache for us. To minimize the risks, we developed “Cargo Patrol” in 2012. This software application allows us to scan the booking documents of all cargo that hasn’t been declared as dangerous goods and search for any anomalies. At the moment, we are coming across an average of 1,400 suspicious bookings per day. A five-person team then does some meticulous detective work on these hits until we know for sure what the container’s contents really are. In doing so, we primarily focus on high-risk substances that pose a threat to the life and limb of our crews, to the safety of our ships, to the environment, or to the cargo of all other customers on board the particular ship. Undeclared explosives are simply more dangerous than undeclared paint. On top of that, we train our captains and the officers responsible for the cargo every three years in accordance with the legal requirements. We also provide regular training to Sales staff involved with dangerous goods. And we are always happy to assist customers who ask to learn more about dangerous goods.