Transporting dangerous goods is covered by national and international legislation. A freight forwarder might not come into direct contact with the goods, even though they will be passing on the documents and instructions to those who are. The documents must be prepared accordingly and the goods must be packed appropriately.

Even if you decide not to handle consignments of dangerous goods, you need to recognise them if they are presented for carriage. There are many products that have a danger classification and it's not always possible to know this from the name of the product.

The manufacturer or shipper has the prime responsibility for correctly classifying, packing and documenting dangerous goods. However, if the freight forwarder is loading these items into containers or onto pallets, they should be aware of dangerous goods and each aspect surrounding their movement. The British International Freight Association (BIFA) runs specialist training courses on dangerous goods.

Each mode of transport has its own compliance requirements regulations. As multimodal transport specialists, forwarders are required to have a professional understanding that the carriage of dangerous goods is subject to compliance with national and international regulations including:

Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009 (CDG 2009) which apply to the carriage of dangerous goods by road, rail and internal European Union waterways

European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road known as ADR and incorporated into CDG 2009

International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)

Freight forwarders and cargo agents, packers and others involved in the preparation and shipping of dangerous goods must undergo recurrent training to ensure that their consignments are in compliance and will be quickly and easily accepted by airlines.

( linda )14 Nov,2011

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