{"operation":"document","citation":"00-0048","title":"Mediterranean Shipping Company — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2000-04-12","effective_on":null,"summary":"00-0048 response to Mediterranean Shipping Company concerning 176.30.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0048.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0048.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0048","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2000/000048.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\n1,5\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nWashington, D.C.\n20590\nResearch and\nAdministration\nSpecial Programs\nAPR 1 2 2000\nMr. Marvin Pontiff\nRef. No. 00-0048\nManager, Safety and Compliance\nMediterranean Shipping Company\n550 Long Point Road\nMount Pleasant, SC 29464\nDear Mr. Pontiff:\nThis responds to your letter dated February 8, 2000, concerning shipping documentation requirements\nunder the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). You ask specifically\nabout requirements for a dangerous cargo manifest and emergency response information.\nYou are correct that § 176.30 of the HMR requires a carrier to prepare a dangerous cargo manifest,\nlist, or stowage plan. The dangerous cargo manifest assures that information about the hazardous\nmaterials on board a vessel is readily available in a single document, thereby obviating the need for the\nvessel operator to carry a number of separate shipping papers. For each hazardous material, the ... - ..\ninformation on the dangerous cargo manifest must be the same as the information provided by the\nshipper on the shipping order or shipping paper. The person supervising preparation of the manifest\nmust certify its truth and accuracy to the best of his knowledge and belief by his signature and notation\nof the date prepared. In addition, the carrier must assure that the master of the vessel or a licensed\ndeck officer designated by the master acknowledges the correctness of the dangerous cargo manifest,\nlist, or stowage plan by his signature. Shipping papers and packing certificates are not required to\naccompany hazardous materials shipments on board a vessel.\nYou ask how the master or his designee can acknowledge that the dangerous cargo manifest is\naccurate without comparing the information it contains with the shippers' documentation. There is no\nsingle answer to this question. If the master or his designee is not comfortable acknowledging the\naccuracy of certain information on a dangerous goods manifest prepared by the carrier's office\npersonnel, he should be provided with whatever additional supporting information is necessary.\nUltimately, the master must relay on information provided to him as well as any of his own observations\nof the cargo and its storage on board the vessel in fulfilling his responsibilities under § 176.30(c).\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nYou also ask how Port State Control authorities can verify that the information on a dangerous cargo\nmanifest matches the shipping papers when the shipping documents are maintained at a carrier's\nbusiness office rather than on board the vessel. The HMR do not prescribe a specific time within which\nrecords related to a hazardous materials shipment must be provided to a government authority if\nrequested. Records should be made available to enforcement authorities within a reasonable time.\nAlthough not required by the HMR, a carrier may choose to maintain shipping papers on board a\nvessel to assure that they are readily available.\nYour understanding of the requirements for emergency response information related to hazardous\nmaterials shipments is correct. Section 172.602 of the HMR provides several options for presenting\nemergency response information. You will note that all of the options require the emergency response\ninformation to be directly associated with the basic description and technical name of the hazardous\nmaterial or to cross-reference the description of the hazardous material on the shipping paper. This\nassures that, in an emergency, information about the hazards of the specific materials involved can easily\nbe accessed. Provided the information required by § 172.602(a) is included, any of the three options\nlisted in § 172.602(b) for formatting the information is acceptable.\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this\noffice.\nSincerely,\n....\n•:\nThomas G. Allan\nSenior Transportation Regulations Specialist\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nS\nMEDITERRANEAN SHIPPINg COMPANY (USA) INC.\nFebruary 8, 2000\n:...\nParim\nResearch and Special Programs Administration\n.•.\n...\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n...\n$ 14:30\nOffice of Hazardous Material Standards (DHM-10)\nAttn: Mr. Edward Mazzulo\n:00-.0048\n400 7\" Street, S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nDear Mr. Mazzulo:\nI am writing to request clarification of specific regulatory cites in Title 49 Code of\nFederal Regulations Subchapter C- Hazardous Materials Regulations. My questions all\ninvolve the issue of which documents must accompany hazardous materials shipped as\ncargo on container vessels.\nMediterranean Shipping Company's position has long been that the dangerous cargo\nmanifest, the supporting documents from the shipper (the dangerous goods declaration\nand the container packing certificate), and an emergency response card/document must be\ncarried on board its vessels. We have developed a computerized hazardous materials\ndatabase capable of printing out by voyage and discharge port a DCM, DGD/CPC, and\nemergency card for hazardous cargoes carried on MSC vessels. The information from\nthe shipper's declaration is verified with the shipper where necessary, and computerized\nby MSC office personnel. Once entered as complete with all information required by\nregulation, it is printed for delivery to the vessel's master (the original shipper's\ndocuments remain in the office). This process provides clear, easy-to-read information to\nthe vessel's officers and port state control authorities regarding the cargo on board,\neliminating ambiguous or unreadable documents supporting the DCM. The emergency\ncard provides a quick reference based on the International Maritime Dangerous Goods\nCode Supplement, which is cargo-specific, to respond to hazardous materials incidents\nwhen minutes matter. The emergency card provides response information in the quickest\nformat available and eliminates the need to search through voluminous guidance\ndocuments.\nRegarding the shipper's supporting documents, 49 CFR 176.30(b) states the following:\nThe hazardous material information on the dangerous cargo manifest must\nbe the same as the information furnished by the shipper on the shipping\norder or other shipping paper... The person who supervises the\npreparation of the manifest, list, or stowage plan shall ensure that the .\ninformation is correctly transcribed, and shall certify to the truth and\naccuracy of this information to the best of his knowledge and belief by his\nsignature and notation of the date prepared,\nThis part of the documentation process is being completed by MSC office personnel.\nHowever, Title 49 CFR 176.30(c) charges the master or licensed deck officer designated\n550 LONG POINT ROAD • MT. PLEASANT, SC 29464 • TEL: (843) 971-4100 • FAX: (843) 971-1155\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n•MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY (USA) INC.\nby the master and attached to the vessel with acknowledging the correctness of the\ndangerous cargo manifest, list or stowage plan by his signature. How is he to do this\nwithout being able to compare the information with the shipper's declaration? How can\nhe verify the placarding on containers with limited quantities of dangerous goods without\nimmediate access to the shipper's supporting documents? How can he respond to a\nchallenge by Port State Control authorities that the information on the DCM matches the\nshipping papers? What time limit is involved when the support documents are available\nat the business office in the U.S. which is not in the same location as the Port State\nControl boarding? MSC would argue that the supporting documents must be available on\nboard to the master in order that he and the Port State Control authorities are able to\nverify the accuracy of the DCM. This is an issue with which we have a question.\nRegarding the required emergency response information, 49 CFR 172.602 addresses the\ncontent and form of the information to be \"iramediately available at all times that\nhazardous material is present\". Specifically, paragraph 176.602(b)(3) states that the\nemergency information must be presented in one of three manners:\n(i)\nOn a shipping paper;\n(ii)\nIn a document, other than a shipping paper, that includes both the\nbasic description and technical name of the hazardous material as\nrequired by 172.202 and 172.203(k), the ICAO Technical\nInstructions, the IMDG Code, or the TDG Regulations, as\nappropriate, and emergency response information required by this\nsubpart (e.g., a material safety data sheet); or\n(iii)\nRelated to the information on a shipping paper, a written\nnotification to pilot-in-command, or a dangerous cargo manifest, in\na separate document (e.g. an emergency response guidance\ndocument), in a manner that cross-references the description of the\nhazardous material on the shipping paper with the emergency\nresponse information contained in the document.... aboard\nvessels, the IMO \"Emergency Procedures for Ships Carrying\nDangerous Goods\", or equivalent documents, may be used to\nsatisfy the requirements of this section for a separate document.\nWe would appreciate your clarification of the above issues as soon as possible. Are the\nshipper's supporting documents, other than the carrier-prepared DCM, required to be on\nboard the vessel to accompany the hazardous cargo? Is it not better to have hazardous\ncargo-specific emergency response information that draws upon other guidance\ndocuments immediately available to the master instead of the IMO guidance document\nitself? Should you have any questions, please contact me at (843) 971-4100 ext. 3087.\nYours truly,\nMawin Fantipe\nMarvin Pontiff\nManager, Safety and Compliance\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nor fransportation\nInited State:\nCoast Guar\nFACSIMILE\nOffice of Operating and\nTRANSMITTAL\nEnvironmental Standards\nHazardous Materials Standards Division\nFax: (202) 267-4570\nTel: (202) 267-1217\nTO:\nFROM:\nSusan Gorsky\nE. P. Persich\nCOMPANY:\nDHM-10\nDATE:\nFAX NUMBER:\n4/10/00\nTOTAL NO. OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER:\n63012\n3\nPHONE NUMBER:\n69532\nSENDER'S REFERENCE NUMBER:\nRE:\nYOUR REFERENCE NUMBER:\n:\nNoTepot le to Marvin Pontiff Mediterranean Shipping.\nSusan,\nSorry for the delay in getting back to you on this. Letter looks good; just a couple of changes\nsuggested.\n20d paragraph, last sentence: after the word \"papers\" add \" and container packing certificates\"\n3' paragraph, replace 20d and 3\" sentences with the following:\n\"There is no single answer to this question. If the master or his designee is not\ncomfortable acknowledging the accuracy of certain information on a dangerous goods\nmanifest prepared by the carrier's office personnel, he should be provided with whatever\nadditional supporting information is necessary. Ultimately, the master must rely on\ninformation provided to him as well as any of his own observations of the cargo and its\nstowage on board the vessel in fulflling his responsibilities under section 176.30(c).\"\nLet me know if you have any questions.\nManny\n500/00 SSON\nZE:IT\n00/01/50\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nMAR-30-2800 15:09\nHMIC\nP.B4/05\n•\nMr. Marvin Pontiff\nManager, Safety ard Compliance\nMediterranean Shipping Company\n550 Long Point Road\nMount Pleasant, South Carolina 29464\nDear Mr. Pontifi:\nThis responds to your lettes dated February 8, 2000, concerning shipping documentation requirements\nunder the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). You ask specifically\nabout requirements for a dangerous cargo manifest and emergency response information.\nYou are correct that § 176.30 of the HMR requires a carrier to prepare a dangerous cargo manifest,\nlist, or stowage plan. The dangerous cargo tanifest assures that infomiation about the hazardous\nmaterials on board a vessel is readily available in a single document, thereby obviating the nood for the\nvessel operator to carry a mumber of separate shipping papers. For each bazardous material, the\ninformation on the dangerous cargo manifest must be the same as the information provided by the\nshipper on the shipping order or shipping paper. The person supervising preparation of the manifest\nmust certify its truth and accuracy to the best of his knowledge and belief by his signature and notation\nof the date prepared. In addition, the carrier must assure that the master of the vessel or a licensed\ndeck officer designated by the master acrowledges the correctness of the dangerous cargo manifest,\nlist, or stowage plan by his signature. Shipping papers are not required to accompany hazardous\nmaterials shipments on board a vessel.\n'and container packing certificates\nYou ask how the roaster or his designee can acknowledge that the dangerous cargo manifest is\naccurate without comparing the information it contains with the shippers' documentation. If the master\nor his designee is not comfortable acknowledging the accuracy of the dangerous cargo manifest through\nobservation of the cargo on board the vessel, he should be provided with whatever additional\ninformation is necessary. While not required by the HMR, a carrier may elect to provide copies of\nshipping papers and other shipping documentation to the master of the vessel to assist him in this task.\nYou also ask how Port State Control authorities can verify that the information on a dangerous cargo\nmanifest matches the shipping papers when the shipping documents are maintained at a carrier's\nbusiness office rather than on board the vessel. The HMR do not prescribe a specific time within which\nrecords related to a hazardous materials shipment must be provided to a government authority if\nSee fax cover for suppested change to last a sentinees,\n200/2001 N\n251000/50\n\n<<<PAGE 7>>>\n\nMAR-30-2000\n15:89\nHMIC\nP.05/85\nrequested. Records should be made available to enforcement authorities within a reasonable time.\nAlthough not required by tbe HMR, a carrier may choose to maintain shipping papers on board a\nvessel to assure that they are readily available.\nYour understanding of the requirements for emergency response information related to hazardous\nmaterials shipments is correct. Soction 172.602 of the HMR provides several options for presenting\nemergency response information. You will note that all of the options require the emergency response\ninformation to be directly associated with the basic description and technical name of the hazardous\nmaterial or to cross-reference the description of the hazardous material on the shipping paper. This\nassures that, in an emergency, information about the hazards of the specific materials involved can easily\nbe accessed. Provided the information required by § 172.602(a) is included, any of the three options\nlisted in § 172.602(b) for formatting the information is acceptable.\nT hope this information is belpful. If you bave further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this\noffice.\nSincerely,\nThomas G. Allan\nSenior Transportation Regulations Specialist\nthis\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n•\nSgorsky:DHM-10:3/22/00:x69532\ncc: DHM-10\n00-0048\n_.....\nTOTAL P.DS\n200/&00d SON\nSE:IT 00/0T/0","truncated":false,"body_characters":14978}