Even the Energizer rabbit will feel the
heat if the ICAO panel that met up in Montreal all this week comes down
hard (as expected) on the cargo and pax transport of lithium batteries.
The 14-member ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel
(DGP) is mostly government appointed from the leading trading nations
– plus some key industry stakeholders such as IATA and PRBA who
enjoy observer status.
However, without being premature one can
already say that the cards are getting shuffled:
The ICAO Break-Out-Session on Compliance
and Awareness working paper highlights that “the common view was
that an effective means was to push compliance back down the supply chain
towards the manufacturer” and that government inspectors and operators
alike should have a good hard look at “how well does the forwarder
know their shippers, that the shipper has trained employees, access to
proper classification and Safety Data Sheets”.
These dry and chilling words have the potential
to impact the air transport industry – and the transport industry
as a whole, since DG transport requirements are harmonized throughout
the modes of transport by means of the UN Model Regulations.
The business model of auction platforms
could be seriously at stake as well as most of the so-called “reverse
logistics” which is more often than not in B2C another term for
willful non-compliance.
Whether or not they reached agreement is
waiting in the wings as we go to press.
So will NEMA and PRBA prevail in their demands
to preserve the Status Quo, or will ICAO tackle the longstanding issues
with mailing and shipping these omnipresent Lithium – battery related
commodities?
Stay tuned to FT and we’ll
keep you updated as soon as there is definite news, about whether or not
the ICAO DGP reached agreement.
Jens/Geoffrey
In case you missed it, FlyingTypers has covered this subject
in detail.
Here are the links:
Dangers
Of Lithium Ion Batteries
Lithium
Sparks Dreadful Report
Lithium
Dangers To Air Cargo
Testing
Lithium Logistics |
