United Nations experts endorse RF initiative
27 November - 6 December 2017 the Palace of Nations (Geneva) hosted the 52nd session of the ECOSOC Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.
The Russian Federation stated at the session that it is of high importance to develop the requirements for tank containers with fiber-reinforced (FRP) shells followed with appropriate amendments to the Model Regulations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (Orange Book). Orange Book is the basic source for a number of statutory documents governing the dangerous goods transportation, including the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) - the main instrument of the International Maritime Organization related to the transportation of dangerous goods by sea.
The speakers agreed with importance and relevance of the matters, highlighted by the Russian Federation and unanimously supported the idea of the requirements for tank containers with FRP shells development. The new requirements will allow certifying these containers for multimodal transportation by road, railways, river and sea transport on a par with metal shells containers.
The Sub-Committee established a Correspondence group based on discussed issues with terms of reference aimed to prepare grounds for the amendments to the Orange Book to be developed. This includes the evaluation of a performance equivalence with commonly used metal tanks; different materials for fibers and resins including new technologies; different manufacturing techniques and performance evaluation methods chemical resistance to different shipped goods; suitability for different classes of dangerous goods, applicable national and international standards; unacceptable damage criteria. The report of the Correspondence group is to be submitted to the 53d session of the Sub-Committee in June 2018.
The representatives of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) took part in the work of the 52nd session of the ECOSOC Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.
