ITCO responds to MSC plans

NOT SO FLEXIBLE

SUSTAINABILITY • CLAIMS THAT FLEXIBAGS OFFER A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE TO TANK CONTAINERS ARE SIMPLY NOT TRUE, ITCO HAS STRESSED

MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY (MSC), the largest container liner operator and reportedly cash-rich after the boom in freight rates over the past year, has announced a move into the flexibag market, offering this as an alternative for the shipping of non-hazardous liquids in bulk. MSC says it is the first carrier to offer an in-house service, including the selection and fitting of flexibags at its own depots.

Announcing the new service on 9 June, MSC made a number of claims about flexibags, particularly in terms of their sustainability advantages, that have drawn the ire of the tank container sector. In a statement issued the following week, the International Tank Container Organisation (ITCO) has attempted to rebut MSC’s claims, with its president, Reg Lee, aiming to correct what he called “a number of misconceptions”.

For instance, MSC says that flexibags are single-use and fully recyclable, which makes them a good choice for use with edible cargoes. Lee counters that flexibags are neither eco-friendly nor sustainable: each flexibag is made of plastics films consisting of polyethylene and a polypropylene sleeve; it weighs more than 40 kg – equivalent to around 7,500 single-use shopping bags – and will most likely end up being disposed of in landfill rather than being recycled.

A tank container, on the other hand, can transport several cargoes each year over a lifetime of at least 20 years; moreover, at the end of its life around 90 per cent of a tank container can be easily recycled through a well established material recovery service.

Indeed, Lee says, flexibags cannot be fully recycled, even if the receiver takes care to do so. While solid plastics are readily recyclable, the thin films that make up the flexibag itself are not easily or economically recyclable. As such, Lee says, most flexibags will simply be dumped in a landfill, most probably still contaminated with their cargo, further endangering the environment.

CLEAN BEFORE DISPOSAL MSC further states that there is no need to clean a flexibag after use, unlike a tank container that has to be taken to a cleaning

station before its next load. This is, Lee says, both misleading and incorrect. While a flexibag that has contained, say, wine might be able to be shredded safely for reprocessing in an empty-dirty state, any flexibag that has carried chemicals or petroleum products – even non-hazardous materials – will need to be thoroughly drained and cleaned or safety of handling, prior to being sent to landfill or incineration. Conversely, the controlled and monitored cleaning of tank containers allows them to safely carry high quality goods repeatedly.

Again, Lee says, MSC’s claim that flexibags represent “less packaging than conventional ISO tanks” is simply false. Tank containers are, themselves, the packaging for transport and no additional materials are required. Flexibags, on the other hand, must have liners made of varying materials for the dry box, bulkheads and potentially heating pads – in addition to the single-use multi-layered flexibag itself.

The full cost of packaging and recycling a flexibag is rarely taken into full consideration by shippers, Lee says, as it is usually the full responsibility of the consignee or receiver to voluntarily recycle the flexibags or dispose of the dirty flexibags in landfills. Few processes or laws are in effect to trace the flexibags from cradle to grave, and waste is not controlled as is the case with tank containers.

Ultimately, Lee says, the responsibility for the environmental stewardship of the bag is lost along the supply chain, without traceability. The shipper, who purchases and introduces the 40 kg of plastics into the world, has no responsibility for what subsequently happens to it upon delivery. This is entirely different to a tank container shipment, where the tank container operator retains responsibility for the environmental stewardship of the tank container - and of its cargo residue and of its cleaning. The operator accepts full responsibility right through the supply chain, and welcomes auditing at every stage.

HIDDEN HAZARDS There are other hazards involved in the use of flexibags, which again may not be well known. They carry an additional risk from a confined space entry point of view, as destination handlers all over the world need to remove contaminated flexibags from the container and place them in a skip for disposal. Lack of procedures and controls globally could put workers at risk. This is not the case for tank containers, where audited safety procedures minimise and control the risk to workers.

ITCO also emphasises that the carriage of bulk liquid cargoes by road requires special driver training because of the risks associated with the surge movement of liquids inside the containers. Specialist tank container trucking companies carry out extensive training to educate their drivers about the danger of liquid surge inside the tank container and the effect this has on the stability of the vehicle. There is generally no such training among conventional dry-box trucking companies used to transport flexibags, making their carriage potentially unsafe.

In this regard, flexibags are unsatisfactory in terms of road safety both for drivers of the vehicle and the public around them, due to the risk of liquid surges that affect braking and stability. This might lead to rollovers for drivers unused to liquid cargoes.

“A tank container remains the safest and most environmentally acceptable method of containerised bulk liquid transport,” Lee says. “Every 40 kg plastics flexibag that is manufactured represents a needless addition to the burden of plastics in the global environment, because the same liquid cargo could be repeatedly carried instead by tank container.”

Given all these safety and environmental issue – which have been well rehearsed within the logistics sector – it seems odd that MSC should have chosen June not only to launch its flexibag service but also to join ICHCA International, with its Chief EHSQ Officer, Dirk van de Velde, saying: “MSC has determined the Environmental, Health, Safety and Security Quality Governance topics (EHSQ) that are most relevant to our business, we have identified our priorities and are building on communication with the maritime stakeholders. Our membership of ICHCA is a logical step following this assessment and the expansion of our activities. We want to help address the increasing risks and calamities in the maritime supply chain today.” www.itco.org www.msc.com

MSC’S DECISION TO OFFER A FLEXIBAG SERVICE SEEMS

TO RUN COUNTER TO ITS COMMITMENT TO SAFETY IN THE

MARITIME SUPPLY CHAIN AND ITS CLAIMS ARE, ITCO SAYS,

INSUPPORTABLE