Carriage, Handling and Storage of Dangerous Goods along

VESSELS 91
including the kind of PPE to be used, can be found on the Material Safety Data Sheet of the cargo
handled. If possible, signs must be placed where it is necessary to use PPE onboard the barge stating
what kind – and possibly what type – of protective equipment to use.
References
• International Labour Organization: Accident prevention on board ship at sea and in port.
ACTIONS
Technical and Management
The effectiveness of personal protective equipment depends not only on its design but also on its
maintenance. It should be kept in good condition and be stored in a designated place onboard. Such
items should be inspected at regular intervals.
The manufacturer's instructions should be kept and consulted for use and maintenance purposes.
The Material Safety Data Sheet of the cargo onboard must be available as this provides the crew
with the necessary information of the PPE to be used. Shipowners should ensure that seafarers are
supplied with suitable personal protective equipment, particularly when engaged in work involving a
particular hazard which can be reduced by the provision of personal protective equipment.
Institutional and Capacity Building
PPE should be of a type and standard as approved by the appropriate authority. A wide variety of
equipment is available and it is essential that no items are ordered, or received onboard, unless they
are suitable for the task for which they are required.
All crewmembers should be trained in the use of personal protective equipment and advised of its
limitations. Persons using such items should check them each time before use.
3.3.5 Documentation
3.3.5.1 Packaged Dangerous Goods
Target group: Cargo barges
RECOMMENDATION
Member Countries should determine minimum documentation standards for inland transport of
dangerous goods.
Challenge
The Risk Analysis found that documentation and segregation of packaged dangerous goods transported
and stored along the Mekong River is often insufficient. In 1996, the IMO estimated that
between 10-15 percent of cargoes transported by water are dangerous goods in packaged form including
shipborne barges on barge-carrying ships, freight containers, bulk packaging, portable tanks, tankcontainers,
road tankers, swap-bodies, vehicles, trailers, immediate bulk containers (IBCs), unit loads
and other cargo transport units. In 2000, the editor of Hazardous Cargo Bulletin estimated that the
percentage may be higher in some ports, countries and regions.
Apart from tanker barges carrying dangerous goods in bulk, a lot of dangerous goods are carried
in containers or as general cargo. From the risk analysis. it was observed that a number of barges do