IMDG Code states “The certification shall be signed and dated by the consignor.”

The text of the certification for which shipper signs is as below

“I hereby declare that the contents of this consignment are fully and accurately described above by the Proper Shipping Name, and are classified, packaged, marked and labelled/placarded, and are in all respects in proper condition for transport according to applicable international and national government regulations.”

Shipper is responsible to sign the DG declaration. This signature may be replaced by the name(s) (in capitals) if the DGD is presented to the carrier by means of EDP or EDI.

Further the person responsible for packing the container shall sign the packing certificate.  Packing certificate is not required for tanks.

By shashi kallada

25 years in Merchant Shipping, Last 13 years working on Packaged Dangerous Goods Sailor, Ex Manager Global Dangerous Goods Maersk Line * Freelance Photographer *Amateur Cyclist

7 thoughts on “Who must sign the Dangerous Goods Declaration?”
  1. Hi Shashi,
    The main problem remains “who is the shipper” ?
    Is it the one who perfom the packages, labels and marks, or the one who fill the déclaration form? Several cases are met. For example a company A produce and package, then she send by road to another company B for storage and later shipping. Who must sign and put his company name as shipper (A or B)?

    By the way, do you use a specific regulation for land transport ?
    Thanks for all information. Best regards
    Antoine

    1. Hi Antoine,

      Thank you for your question about ‘who is shipper’.
      Even though IMDG Code does not define who exactly is the shipper the shipper must be same as the shipper mentioned in bill of lading.
      This is the same shipper who offer to load to first carrier in multimodal transport chain.
      When shipper sign in box no. 22 of MDGF (Multimodal Dangerous Goods Form) s(h)he abides by the applicable international and national governmental regulations which also includes individual countries road, rail or river regulations when applicable.
      Examples for Specific regulations for land transports are ADR CFR 49 in U.S.A

      I am inviting Hariesh to explain more on the ‘role of shipper’ here

      Regards/Shashi

  2. Hello Anotine/Shashi, a Shipper is a person, company or entity that is shown in all the shipping documents (bill of lading, commercial invoice, packing list) as the party responsible for procuring and/or placing the order for shipment and maybe also for arranging the freight payment etc..

    Shipper shown on the bill of lading need not necessarily be a registered exporter (there is a difference between shipper and exporter – http://shippingandfreightresource.com/difference-between-an-exporter-and-a-shipper/) and may or may not be the seller of the goods.. A Freight Forwarder can also be shown as the shipper on a lines bill of lading..

    The shipper is responsible for all the declarations made for the shipment whether it is cargo info on the bill of lading, hazardous info on the haz declaration or the VGM information on the VGM declaration..

    IMO defines Shipper as the legal entity or person named on the bill of lading or sea waybill or equivalent multimodal transport document (e.g. “through” bill of lading) as shipper and/or who (or in whose name or on whose behalf) a contract of carriage has been concluded with a shipping company (see paragraph 2.1.12 of the Guidelines regarding the verified gross mass of a container carrying cargo (MSC.1/Circ.1475)).

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