Opinion ID: 2960144
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The IMDG Code

Text: The International Maritime Organization (the “IMO”) maintains a schedule of dangerous materials known as the IMDG Code. The United States has ratified the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (“SOLAS”), Nov. 1, 1974, 32 U.S.T. 47, which incorporates through amendment the IMDG Code. Recife, 827 F. Supp. at 994. Thus, although the IMDG Code is not controlling in this tort action, it serves as an important reference for carriers seeking to transport 8 cargo safely and efficiently while complying with international regulations. See Harmony, 394 F. Supp. 2d at 657. The Code regulates the transport of dangerous goods by sea “in order reasonably to prevent injury to persons, or damage to the ship” or “the marine environment.” IMDG Code 1.1 (1998). “At the same time, however, any regulation should be so framed as not to impede unnecessarily the movement of such goods.” Id. The Code further contains a number of general guidelines that apply to all cargo. For example, the Code states that “[i]n view of the high protective advantages, stowage under deck has been recommended wherever possible, except that, for certain [explosives] whose principal hazard is the production of smoke or toxic fumes, stowage on deck has been recommended.” Id. at 14.6. “Where it is necessary to prevent pressure build-up, decomposition or polymerization of a substance, the packages should be stowed shaded from radiant heat, which includes protection from strong sunlight.” Id. at 14.12. When stored below deck, substances vulnerable to radiant heat should be stowed “‘away from’ sources of heat, including sparks, flame, steam pipes, heating coils, etc.” Id. at 14.13. Under the Code, calhypo is a Class 5.1 oxidizing substance. In general, all oxidizing substances, “although in themselves not necessarily combustible, may, either by yielding oxygen or by similar processes, increase the risk and intensity of fire in other materials with which they come into contact.” Id. at 5.1.5. In addition to its general rules on substances vulnerable to radiant heat, the Code requires that carriers store calhypo in particular “‘[a]way from’2 sources of 2 The Code defines “away from” as “[e]ffectively segregated so that the incompatible goods cannot interact dangerously in the event of an accident but may be carried in the same compartment or hold or on deck, provided a minimum horizontal separation of 3 metres, projected vertically, is obtained.” IMDG Code 15.2.2.1.1. 9 heat where temperatures in excess of 55°C for a period of 24 hours or more will be encountered.” The Code further requires that calhypo be “‘[s]eparated from’3 powdered metals, ammonium compounds, cyanides and hydrogen peroxide.” The IMDG Code also imposes temperature-related requirements that apply by implication to the stowage of calhypo. Section 21.2.3.1 requires that material with a self-accelerating decomposition temperature (or “SADT”)4 of over 35°C be stored at a control temperature of 10°C below the SADT. The SADT “should be determined in accordance with the latest version of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria.” Id. at 21.2.3 n.. The district court did not venture a finding as to the SADT according to this United Nations document. The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) regulations largely repeat the general aspects of the IMDG Code, but they add that for “transportation by vessel, shipments are authorized in accordance with the control temperature requirements in Chapter 7.7 of the IMDG Code.” 49 C.F.R. § 173.21(f)(3)(ii).5 3 The Code defines “separated from” as “[i]n different compartments or holds when stowed under deck. Provided the intervening deck is resistant to fire and liquid, a vertical separation, i.e. in different compartments, may be accepted as equivalent to this segregation. For on deck stowage, this segregation means a separation by a distance of at least 6 metres horizontally.” IMDG Code 15.2.2.1.2. 4 A material’s SADT is closely related to its CAT. We do not explicate the difference as it does not affect the resolution of this appeal. 5 Among other things, the DOT regulations forbid the transport of “[a] package containing a material which is likely to decompose with a self-accelerated decomposition temperature (SADT) of 50° C (122° F) or less . . . with an evolution of a dangerous quantity of heat or gas when decomposing . . . unless the material is stabilized or inhibited in a manner to preclude such evolution. The SADT may be determined by any of the test methods described in Part II of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria . . . .” 49 C.F.R. § 173.21(f). The regulations 10