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April Fool’s Day marked the not so foolish implementation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) restrictions on the carriage of lithium-ion batteries in bulk on passenger aircraft.

These bulk shipments are now limited to freighter aircraft only – and with a maximum state of charge of 30%.

In SA the majority of lithium battery shipments are contained in or shipped with equipment, and these are not affected by the April 1 change in shipping rules, according to aviation security specialist, David Alexander, GM of Avsec.

In almost every case, he told FTW, an incident is caused by misdeclared/hidden consignments, by bad handling or by bad (counterfeit) batteries.

“And in SA, like the rest of the world, we struggle with misdeclared, undeclared and hidden dangerous goods,” he said. “People do not realise that their irresponsible behaviour could bring an aircraft down. When lithium-ion batteries are correctly declared the industry knows exactly how to safely prepare them for carriage. But this costs money and some people take a chance, perhaps without realising the significance and magnitude of the risk. This is

an education and discipline problem. People must learn to follow the rules. They are in place for our protection.”

Passenger education must also be a priority, according to Alexander. “If you refer to the stats,” he said, “our average passenger is woefully unaware of how to carry devices and spare batteries for the multitude of devices we all carry.”

This is highlighted in incidents in the US, one of the only countries that maintains and publishes statistics on lithium battery incidents. These recorded 24 incidents involving lithium-ion batteries reported on passenger aircraft, either in carry-on or hold baggage, and involving laptops, e-cigarettes, cell phones, battery packs, drones and power drills.

At the same time, 16 incidents happened on cargo aircraft with bulk shipments of batteries. The most significant fact here was that all of them

involved either misdeclared, undeclared or badly packed batteries – or a combination of all three!

Meanwhile, quite a significant number of incidents were exacerbated by poor handling.

Alexander also highlighted another area of major threat. “That,” he said, “is the appearance of more and more counterfeit lithium ion batteries on the market. Some of these are so good as to be almost indistinguishable from the real thing.”

So how can you know? “One way,” he said, “is

that every single genuine lithium ion battery meets the requirements of each test of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3. This should be indicated on the packaging. However, it’s very difficult to check when bulk batteries are shipped.”

Also included in the threat are substandard batteries that simply spontaneously ignite – a problem that was attributed to batteries in ‘hover boards’ last

year, and led to airlines refusing to carry them.

The answer to this, according to Alexander, is that buyers should stick to legitimate suppliers

with a proven record of supplying compliant product. “This is especially

important with the 30% state of charge coming into

effect,” he added. “You must deal with responsible people

who follow the rules and apply stringent quality standards.”– Alan Peat

Lithium battery restriction kicks in

In our article headlined ‘TFR makes strides in development of bimodal technology’ (March 25, 2016) the incorrect photograph of Ravi Nair, Transnet Freight Rail’s acting chief executive, was used.

The correct image is published on the right.

For the record

LAST WEEK’S TOP STORIES ON

Drunk captain runs ship aground in GermanyThe captain of a Dutch-f lagged cargo ship has been found to be drunk in charge of his ship.

Durban dry dock back in businessThe comprehensive repair programme to the outer caisson at the 90-year-old Prince Edward Graving Dock in the Port of Durban has now been completed,

and the dry dock is back in commission.

‘Container weighing at SA ports would contradict the Solas mandate’Weighing containers at South Africa’s ports would contradict the “verification at source” mandate of the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) container weighing regulation which kicks in on July 1 this year.

Vessel Voy Dbn PE/Cga C.T. Las Palmas Lon G/way R’Dam Ham Ant Le Havre

MSC ATHOS N1616 04/04 09/04 14/04 25/04 30/04 01/05 03/05 05/05 07/05

MSC ARBATAX N1617 11/04 16/04 21/04 02/05 07/05 08/05 10/05 12/05 14/05

MSC CATERINA N1618 18/04 23/04 28/04 09/05 14/05 15/05 17/05 19/05 21/05

MSC ANTIGUA N1619 25/04 30/04 05/05 16/05 21/05 22/05 24/05 26/05 29/05

MSC ALTAMIRA N1620 02/05 07/05 12/05 23/05 27/05 29/05 31/05 02/06 04/06

GENERAL AGENTS DURBAN(031) 570-7800

CAPE TOWN(021) 419-2734

PORT ELIZABETH(041) 373-1399

JOHANNESBURG(011) 263-8500

RICHARDS BAY(035) 789-2438 www.diamondship.co.za

FTW

0591

S O U T H B O U N D

Vessel Voy Lon G/way R’Dam Ham Ant Le Havre CT PE/Cga Dbn

MSC CATERINA S1616 - - - - - 13/04 15/04 18/04

MSC ANTIGUA S1617 - - - 02/04 03/04 20/04 22/04 25/04

MSC ALTAMIRA S1618 03/04 04/04 06/04 08/04 10/04 27/04 29/04 02/05

MSC AZOV S1619 10/04 11/04 13/04 15/04 17/04 04/05 06/05 09/05

MSC AGADIR S1620 17/04 18/04 20/04 23/04 24/04 11/05 13/05 16/05

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