Carriage, Handling and Storage of Dangerous Goods along

118 RECOMMENDATIONS
• ILO Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Ports, 2003;
• IMO Revised Recommendations on the Safe Transport of Dangerous Cargoes and Related
Activities in Port Areas, 2006.
The abovementioned instruments were also discussed in Volume I. They contain general rules on the
transportation of dangerous goods and include binding provisions. As a result, they should be taken
into account when drafting recommendations on a legal framework for the transport of dangerous
goods on the Mekong.
The second layer of the legal framework consists of national laws and regulations. The Mekong Basin
comprises six countries, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Viet Nam, the People’s Republic of
China and Myanmar. Four nations of the Mekong Basin – Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet
Nam – are members of the Mekong River Commission (MRC). These countries have their own laws and
regulations that impact on the transportation of dangerous goods on the Mekong River. In Volume I,
relevant national laws and regulations were therefore inventoried and briefly discussed. It was noted
that Viet Nam has the most extensive legal instruments for IWT, several of which have a bearing on the
transportation of dangerous goods on the Mekong. Cambodia and Lao PDR are currently in the process
of drafting IWT rules and regulations. Thailand has several laws and regulations of relevance to IWT, but
there is almost no Thai legislation concerning the carriage of dangerous goods on the Mekong River.
The Risk Analysis revealed a number of serious gaps and flaws in the current legal framework related
to the transport of dangerous goods on the Mekong. On the one hand, the international instruments
related to the Mekong contain only a limited number of provisions on dangerous goods, and
mechanisms to establish common rules have not yet been used to their full potential. On the other
hand, the international instruments pertaining to the transportation of dangerous goods by water are
not specifically designed to regulate the transportation of dangerous goods on the Mekong and cannot
be directly relied upon without adaptation and/or implementing measures. Furthermore, existing
national laws and regulations are often insufficiently implemented and not properly enforced. For
instance, it is reported that the labeling of dangerous goods – although required by national law – is not
always carried out correctly and that in this regard, existing legal requirements are not always followed.
It was also reported that there is a lack of qualified inspectors and that there are no guidelines to assist
private port and petroleum companies. The present situation may give rise to inadequate conduct by
companies operating along the river and vessel operators.
In view of the projected increase of traffic on the Mekong, especially transportation of dangerous
goods, the need for an up-to-date and harmonised legal framework as well as for enhanced institutional
capacity of national line agencies to monitor and ensure compliance is bound to become more pressing.
The recommendations below focus on rather technical issues, especially mechanisms to improve
the current legal framework. The substance of new legal instruments should be based on the
recommendations formulated in the other chapters, to which it may suffice to refer.
5.2 PREPARATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS
The Risk Analysis elaborated on international benchmarks for the carriage of dangerous goods on the
Mekong. Particular attention was paid to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code
and to the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland
Waterways (ADN).
The IMDG Code was developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in order to assist
the Contracting States to the SOLAS Convention in issuing instructions to the vessels under their flag
concerning the carriage of dangerous goods. While originally designed merely to provide assistance in
the implementation of the SOLAS Convention, the IMDG Code is now binding.