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How apprenticeship education is structured — the flow from school to work
Some of the goods crossing a terminal are not just ordinary goods — they are substances that can explode, burn, corrode or poison if handled incorrectly. Maritime transport of such goods is regulated by the IMDG Code (International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code), drawn up by the UN's maritime organization IMO. The code sets how hazardous goods must be classified, packed, marked and documented regardless of where in the world it sails from and to.
Dangerous goods are marked with diamond-shaped hazard labels in a fixed colour and symbol per class, which must be at least 100×100 mm on the individual package. On the container itself containing dangerous goods, corresponding larger hazard labels — typically at least 250×250 mm — are placed on the sides and gable so that everyone handling or driving past the container can see what hazard it contains.
Dangerous goods always come with a transport declaration — a dangerous goods declaration — where the sender has stated the class, UN number and quantity. As a terminal worker, your job is to check that what you receive or deliver matches the papers and that the packaging and container are intact and correctly labelled. Leaking or damaged packages of dangerous goods should never be handled further on your own — they must be isolated and reported to the system immediately.
A terminal is a place where many different loads stand close together for a period, often under open sky and in changing weather. A leak, a fire or a chemical reaction can therefore spread quickly and affect both people, other goods and the harbor environment itself. The rules in the IMDG Code are strict precisely because the consequences of an error can be serious — and because the same rules apply equally regardless of which country the goods come from or are going to.
“Dangerous goods make no exception for being busy — marking and papers must match every time, without shortcuts.”