We have been advised by surveyors regularly monitoring steel shipments out of the Port of Murmansk of the following problems.

1) Coils are being received wet into port warehouses after rail travel from the mills.

2) Local surveyors do not appear to be recording that the packing of the steel coils "show evidence of previous wetting"

3) Cargo in the winter months is loaded in deep frozen condition which gives rise to unavoidable sweating.

4) Previous lashing problems have been addressed with "Signode" steel band lashing now being used. Care should be taken though as home made wire lashings and clips are still occasionally used. We are informed these are completely unreliable some failing at tensions as low as 15mt.

Source of information - European Surveyors visiting Murmansk