Battery Disconnection and Declaration etc.
with
effect from ‘Red Cedar’ v. 5223
Our roro
feeder vessel operator, DFDS, following serious fires on two vessels, which
were attributed to batteries on second-hand vehicles short-circuiting, have
introduced new requirements for the shipment of vehicles from Immingham, with
immediate effect, on the instructions of their insurance company.
Vehicles
loaded upon other vehicles must have their batteries, which are often
inaccessible to terminal staff, disconnected and their fuel tanks must be
drained or contain only a very small amount of fuel. Shippers will be required
to sign a DFDS declaration to the effect that this instruction has been carried
out; these declarations will be issued by us together with booking
confirmations. Vehicles found not to comply with this requirement will not be
shipped from Immingham and they will be liable to quay rent at the rate of £ 60
per vehicle per day.
DFDS will
disconnect the batteries of prime movers, as deemed necessary after loading
aboard their vessel, with reconnection taking place prior to discharge at the MACS
deep-sea berth in Antwerp.
Fire is one
of the seafarer’s worst nightmares and you will appreciate that action has to
be taken to lessen the prospect of such an occurrence. The photograph below
brings the problem into sharp reality.
