Keep it clean

摘要

At the recent general meeting of the Asia Tank Container Organisation (@tco), Phillip Emmanuel, Asia-Pacific regional director of the TT Club, revealed the results of a study the Club has done on tank container claims. He pinpointed cargo contamination as the leading danger, accounting as it has for 46.5 per cent of all claims between 2006 and 2014. "Contamination can result from any number of factors," Emmanuel explained. However, the incompatibility of the tank itself with the cargo concerned is the most common cause. This is often the result of insufficient cleaning, particularly of the discharge valves and baffle plates, following the carriage of the previous cargo. Corroded or worn manlid seals, and issues occurring either at the origin land tank or during the loading procedure are also common contributory factors." By contrast, the tanks themselves are fairly resistant to damage. "In terms of impact damage, most tanks are built to highly robust standards and the incidence of leaks from such accidents is low. Damaged or failure of valves, seals and gaskets are much more common in occurrence," Emmanuel said.