Cargo Integrity Group calls for risk-based measures to prevent pest contamination

26 July, 2021 - The international freight transport organisations of the Cargo Integrity Group are calling for urgent action from actors in global supply chains to reduce the risk of pest transference through international cargo movements.

The five partners[i] in the Cargo Integrity Group, known as CIG, recognise the vital importance of focusing on the threat of invasive pests to natural resources across the world, and of the urgency in crafting risk reduction measures that address the situation.  
This call to action[ii] follows the intentions by pest control experts under the auspices of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)[iii], to take all-encompassing, internationally imposed steps to mitigate such risks.  One measure under serious consideration is the mandatory certification of cleanliness for all containers prior to loading on board a ship, a measure that would have significant impact on global trade when it comes to both time and cost.

Lars Kjaer, Senior Vice President of the World Shipping Council (WSC), explains the CIG partners concerns around these very broad proposals: “We know that more serious risks occur among certain types of goods and from identified regions. The CIG recommendation centres on the need to provide proper risk assessments in defined trades and focus mandatory measures on these high-risk areas and cargoes.”

The partners in CIG are committed to ensuring that international trade is conducted in a safe, secure, and environmentally sustainable manner. They rigorously promote the use of the ‘Code of Practice for the Packing of Cargo Transport Units’ published by the IMO, the UNECE and the ILO (the CTU Code).

The serious issue of the transfer of invasive pests between different natural ecosystems is very much a part of this commitment. It is also crucial that the development of any such controls is undertaken in full consultation with other appropriate bodies, in particular the international agencies responsible for the governance of world trade and for the regulation of different modes of transport, as well as supply chain stakeholders and industry practitioners.

“There are identified risk areas and cargoes which must be addressed, and the CIG partners look forward to contributing essential industry expertise to the work of the IPPC to ensure an effective and efficient set of recommendations and best practices to stop the transfer of invasive species,” concludes James Hookham, Secretary General of Global Shippers Forum.

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

[i] The five organisations co-operating in the Cargo integrity Group are:
 

Contact 
Anna Larsson  
Communications Director 
Tel: +47 484 06 919 
Email: alarsson@worldshipping.org  

About World Shipping Council 
The World Shipping Council is the united voice of liner shipping, working with policymakers and industry groups to shape the future growth of a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, safe, and secure shipping industry. We are a non-profit trade association with offices in Brussels, Singapore and Washington, D.C. Read more at www.worldshipping.org