Shippers across the globe has sometimes experienced rejection of their dangerous goods bookings with different shipping lines.

What are the reasons for a shipping line to reject a dangerous goods booking submitted to it or at the time of loading?

There may be varying reasons for a shipping line to reject a booking. This rejection can be immediately after placing the booking or after giving a formal acceptance the goods can be rejected from loading.

CMA CGM Marco Polo © Hans Hillewaert / CC-BY-SA-3.0
CMA CGM Marco Polo © Hans Hillewaert / CC-BY-SA-3.0

Some of the common reasons resulting in rejection by a line are:

  • Goods involved are prohibited by the line’s in-house rules
  • Goods involved are prohibited by Vessel owner / VSA
  • Transit port prohibition
  • Transshipment port prohibition
  • Discharge port prohibition
  • Quantity limit of transit port increase if this shipment is accepted
  • Quantity limit of transhipment port increase if this shipment is accepted
  • Quantity limit of discharge port increase if this shipment is accepted
  • Direct delivery confirmation needed from consignee
  • Import/Export permit required (UN Drug Control or CWC requirement)
  • Special documents such as analysis report or competent authority report needed
  • Technical name missing or not matching the proper shipping name
  • Insufficient or non-appropriate packing details
  • Segregation needed with other goods in same container
  • Reefer temperature not as per regulations for said dangerous goods
  • Flashpoint and Packing Group not matching
  • Flashpoint variation from pure substance is too large
  • Information in dangerous goods declaration not matching the details submitted in booking
  • Segregation or stowage restriction on vessel
  • Draft constrains at a port when loading DG on deck

 

Above is not an exhaustive list. There can be other reasons also; it is always prudent to place the booking well advance of cut off date for materializing a dangerous goods shipment. For more information on the process of line accepting Dangerous Goods, Reefer and OOG please refer to article Booking Validation .

 

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

3 thoughts on “Dangerous Goods – Rejection by Shipping Lines”
  1. Very nice topic. As you say, this “is not an exhaustive list” but is a long one…I don’t like this principle but because of this kind of “difficulties” sometimes I think that the DGR philosophical approach, with state and operator variations, is the only way to have (some) harmonization.

  2. Thanks Joao for your comments. Indeed a publicly available list of carrier restrictions may greatly help shippers ( IMO wont add that to IMDG Code) but that is not the end of story. Missing and in accurate information leading to non compliance of regulations is the greater percentage of rejections by line.

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