Representatives of the shipping and freight forwarding industries today congregated at the Safe Container Loading & Transport Practices Seminar in Brisbane.
The seminar was presented by the Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA), in collaboration with the Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA), Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA), and Corsafe.
Attendees were treated to speeches from panellists across every part of the container process, including loading, transportation, and from a regulatory standpoint.
The day’s opening remarks were conducted by Neil Chambers, director of the CTAA, with a welcome address following from Craig Barbour, the executive general manager of port services at the Port of Brisbane.
The panellist speeches were kicked off by Laurie Poke, principal advisor ergonomics at Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, who spoke about fitting the task to the worker rather than forcing the worker to do the task, and on efforts to change the perception of workplace sprain and strain injuries as “just part of the job”.
Sidonie Wood, a senior associate at Bristow Legal, discussed previous cases regarding container and transport related deaths and incidents, including a base view of some of the legal processes from the ensuing investigations.
John Martin from National Transport Insurance, an Australasian marine insurer, discussed frequent types of claims, and the rise of container theft, especially in the United States.
Mr Martin also discussed the Port of Tianjin explosions in 2015, stating that whilst Australian incidents aren’t as severe, the need for vigilance is just as important.
Matthew Hollamby from Patrick Terminals delivered an engaging monologue pertaining to Patrick’s role in the container safety process and some of the problems facing stevedores.
Mr Hollamby spoke on the issues of bulging and damaged boxes coming through terminals, and discrepancies in the declaration of the gross maximum weight capacity of containers from shippers.
According to Mr Hollamby, many of the misdeclared containers were inaccurate by between two to five tonnes, with an egregious case of a container over declared maximum capacity by seven tonnes.
Tom Jonesen, head of international freight and logistics at the FTA signposted on the importance of biosecurity for Australia, the rise in cases of hitchhiker pests, and methods to secure containers properly against threats.
Mr Jensen spoke about biosecurity as an important facet in protecting Australia’s economy, including the country’s agricultural industry and biodiversity, from invasive and harmful pests.
Mr Jensen spoke on the rise in the frequency and type of hitchhiker pest incidences since 2019, and discussed some of the methods of how to look for and secure against pests in the shipping and container process.
The seminar concluded with a Q&A featuring the day’s panellists who answered a number of questions from members of the audience.
