Opinion ID: 2960144
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Recent Industry Warnings

Text: In September 1998, before the Harmony commenced its voyage from New York, its Captain received a “box of correspondence, videos, and other materials from Leonhardt & Blumberg,” the Harmony’s vessel management company. Harmony, 394 F. Supp. 2d at 662. The box included a circular from the “Swedish Club,” a member-owned mutual insurance company. That circular, entitled “MEMBER ALERT: July 1998: Calcium Hypochlorite (Hydrated) UN No. 2880,” stated: In the course of investigating a serious fire onboard a container vessel, the fire experts appointed by us have undertaken a research of how [calhypo] reacts to heat exposure. The preliminary results have such serious implications regarding the transportation of this material that we have decided to immediately advise the shipping community of the findings. ... The current IMO recommendation is that material is not to be exposed to a heat source in excess of 55°C for longer than a 24-hour period. Preliminary results of the research indicate, however, that for the type and size of packaging used routinely to ship this material around the world, the temperatures at which the runaway reaction is likely to begin may be much lower than that recommended by the IMO . . . . It is our understanding that the ambient temperature of holds of certain container ships can reach the critical ignition temperature of this material, which preliminary results of our research suggests is considerably lower than that previously published. continue on: “A package meeting the criteria of paragraph (f) of this section may be required to be shipped under controlled temperature conditions. The control temperature and emergency temperature for a package shall be as specified in the table in this paragraph based upon the SADT of the material. The control temperature is the temperature above which a package of the material may not be offered for transportation or transported. The emergency temperature is the temperature at which, due to imminent danger, emergency measures must be initiated.” Id. § 173.21(f)(1). 11 Accordingly, it is suggested that this material is not shipped in the holds of such ships and if stowage on deck is arranged, heating of this material by direct sunlight must be avoided. Although the Captain received this warning prior to setting off from New York, he did not read it. This Swedish Club circular reflected warnings that had already begun to circulate in the shipping community. For example, one week prior to the Swedish Club’s circular, the same consulting group that was hired by the Swedish Club shared its preliminary findings with respect to calhypo. These warnings were prompted by the destruction of the Contship France, a containership carrying cargo that included calhypo manufactured by PPG. See Contship Containerlines, Ltd. v. PPG Indus., Inc., 442 F.3d 74, 75 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 127 S. Ct. 565 (2006). C. Specific Notice of Dangerous Goods Issued by PPG PPG furnished assorted documentation with its containers of calhypo. A dangerous goods summary accurately identified the contents of the containers as calhypo and provided the relevant IMDG classification information. Dock receipts also identified the material as calhypo and declared that “the packing of the container/vehicle has been carried out in accordance with the general introduction [of the] IMDG code, Paragraph 12.3.7.” An accompanying Material Safety Data Sheet cautioned that the calhypo should be stored “in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place . . . away from heat, sparks, flames, direct sunlight, and other sources of heat, including lighted tobacco products.” This sheet further warned that the calhypo was “[u]nstable above 117 12 C” and would “[d]ecompose[] at 180 C.” The remainder of the seven-page document focused on first aid, firefighting, and ecological and other general concerns.