A Member’s ship recently loaded steel coils at a port in Northern China where pieces of asbestos matting were found with the cargo.

The asbestos was discovered prior to discharge at a port in Europe and the Club is presently assisting the Member in minimising health risks as well as financial aspects of the contamination.

It was found that during the transfer of the cargo from the storage yard to port facilities, asbestos matting was used as dunnage. Pieces of the matting attached themselves to the cargo and remained with the cargo during loading onto the ship. The Club’s local correspondent was appointed and the investigation found further shipments of cargo in the same condition were waiting to be loaded onto ships.

If crew find woven matting such as those illustrated in the images below with their cargo, they should cease cargo operations and immediately seek advice on how to assess if the matting contains asbestos. If asbestos is found to exist, it should not be handled by the ship’s crew but arrangements should be made for the matting to be safely removed. Members that find the cargo loaded to any of their ships affected by asbestos are encouraged to consult the Club’s local correspondent, or contact the Club through their normal contact.