IMO E&T Group advances vehicle transport safety on Board ships in IMDG Code

The International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Editorial and Technical Group for the IMDG Code (E&T) held its 43rd meeting last week which BIMCO representatives attended. The highlight of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code work was the extensive discussion held on the carriage requirements for the transport of vehicles on board ships.  

Here is a summary of the agreements made at this meeting for the transport of vehicles on board ships.   

New Special Provision (SP) 980 introduced  

SP 980 is a new special provision essentially prohibiting the transport of vehicles deemed unsafe for sea carriage.  

Under this provision: 

• Consignors must assess the safety condition of vehicles before offering for shipment
• Vehicles showing damage, leakage, or exposure to extreme events (eg floods, hurricanes) may only be shipped after corrective actions are taken and evaluated
• Vehicles transported as waste are subject to SP 980 and existing waste transport rules (2.0.5)
• Damaged batteries (per SP 376) must be removed prior to shipment
• SP 980 does not apply to vehicles driven by passengers onboard ro-ro passenger ships. 

Amendments to existing SP 961 and SP 962 

SP 961, which provides exemptions for certain vehicles, has been updated to: 

• Incorporate SP 980’s overriding safety requirement
• Exclude hybrid and lithium battery-powered vehicles unless carried under SP 961.1, ie placed in specific areas of the ship that are specially built and approved to prevent and contain fires as per SOLAS regulation Chapter II-2, regulation 20
• Require batteries to be electrically insulated
• Mandate full compliance for vehicles powered by both flammable liquid and gas fuels. 

SP 962 applicable to vehicles not qualifying under SP 961, now includes:

• SP 980’s safety override
• Clarification that unpackaged vehicles are exempt from marking and labelling
• Mandatory placarding for cargo transport units (CTUs) containing vehicles, regardless of packaging status of the vehicles.  

We will publish the above amendments once the report of the E&T Group is officially issued by the IMO. But should you need to see these SPs now, please contact us to marinfo@bimco.org for assistance. 

When do these regulations enter into force ? 

The amendments have been incorporated into the next amendment of the IMDG Code – Amendment 43-26. It is expected to be officially adopted at the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee's 111th session to be held in 2026. The amendment will enter into force voluntarily on 1 January 2027 and become mandatory on 1 January 2028.