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Devil in the Dunnage: U.S. Policy on Plant Pests Puts Owners in Quandary

A dunnage disaster is unfolding in Houston, as several unsuspecting owners have found to their chagrin—and usually at a material cost—over the past seven months. 

This problem is poised to become worse on January 1, when new garbage regulations under Marpol Annex V come into force. 

The problem centers on ships’ inability to dump dunnage, the packing material usually comprising wood waste used to stack cargo on board. Inspectors from the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are increasingly ordering dunnage back on board the vessel after it unloads its cargo in Houston. 

The APHIS action is in clear disregard of international and U.S. regimes that require ports to have adequate shore side facilities to handle dunnage safely. However, it is legal in the U.S., thanks to a government policy letter from 2006 that specifically deals with wood packaging materials. 

The letter empowers APHIS to detect and prevent the entry of plant pests into the U.S. There are several of these insects on the APHIS black list, and they are said to be threats to vegetation. The Asian Gypsy Moth has got extra attention in recent years. 

The upshot for the harried owner in Houston is simple. Unless the ship convinces APHIS inspectors that its dunnage does not have unlawful insects—something that is not easy to do—it is obliged to take its dunnage back with it when it leaves Houston. 

Ships themselves should perhaps shoulder some of the blame. Houston is typically the last port of call for steel voyages. True to the well established principle of “why do today what you can do tomorrow”, ships leave dunnage on board in previous ports with the intention of disposing it of in Houston. 

The typical vessel entering Houston with steel, say a handy size bulk carrier, proceeds to the Mississippi River to load grain outbound, or to Tampa to load fertilizers before proceeding into the Atlantic. 

Suddenly, many of these ships find in Houston today that they cannot offload dunnage. This is causing several problems, according to a member of the Lone Star Harbour Safety Committee who spoke with Lloyd’s List on condition of anonymity. 

“On the docks, stevedores get annoyed when they do not have enough stuffing material to stack cargo on their docks while it awaits onward delivery,” he said. 

“The commercial and safety implications could be even more serious. A vessel with dunnage left behind might violate a charter party that requires the owner to dispose of dunnage upon completion of discharge for an agreed sum of money. 

“Moreover, a ship with dunnage stacked high on deck might not be safe for shore side workers and crew. And if the dunnage is indeed infested with insects, the next country where the vessel calls will not permit the ship to enter, either.” 

Still, this problem was manageable for ships leaving Houston until as recently as May 1. Before that date, crews left stuck with dunnage would dump it overboard once they were 25 miles away from Houston on their outbound journey. 

However, on May 1 the Greater Caribbean became a special area under Marpol Annex V, prohibiting dumping of floating dunnage anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico.

An even bigger blow is about to smite owners on January 1, 2013,when ships will be prohibited from dumping overboard almost everything that constitutes garbage, including  dunnage, in waters anywhere in the world. 

The only materials that can be dumped overboard fall within half a dozen broad categories that include ground food waste and cargo residue, cleaning agents used in deck and external surfaces’ wash water, and carcasses of animals that died during the voyage. 

All other “stuff” must compulsorily be kept on board to be handed over to the shore side reception facility. The APHIS is already preventing this from happening in several instances in Houston. 

Jonathan Waldron, the Blank Rome partner based in Washington, said that the January 1 onset of Marpol Annex V rules is a time bomb that owners so far have ignored. 

Many could, depending on the ship’s type of trade, now find themselves facing an emergency “not only from a logistics and equipment standpoint but also from a training standpoint," Mr. Waldron said. 

“Many ships will be unable to handle the amount of garbage requiring incineration, and many ports will be unable to handle the dunnage suddenly foisted on them without big investments and planning,” he said. 

Mr. Waldron urged owners to make life easier for themselves by using reusable dunnage and generally not taking on anything that could eventually become garbage. 

The Lone Star HSC member was simply perplexed. 

“I know not what to do; but there you have it, Marpol or not, the ship and thus commerce are once again stuck in the middle,” he said.

"Devil in the Dunnage: U.S. Policy on Plant Pests Puts Owners in Quandary, "by Rajesh Joshi first appeared in Lloyd's List on December 11, 2012. To learn more about Lloyd's List, please visit www.lloydslist.com.

Reprinted with permission from Lloyd's List.