To transport dangerous goods in packaged form and solid bulk by ship safely, a variety of important measures must be applied. These include correct identification, classification, packaging, labelling, handling, storage, loading, stowage, unloading and transport.

These measures are covered by IMO’s International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG) and the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargo Code (IMSBC) – the subject of an IMO training workshop underway in San José, Costa Rica (7-11 October).

The training is enabling participants from a number of Central and South America countries* to improve their understanding of the codes and to improve implementation and good practices in applying the measures.

The workshop is organized by IMO in collaboration with Prefectura Naval Argentina, run by IMO’s Regional partner The Central American Commission of Maritime Transport (COCATRAM) and hosted by the Maritime Authority of Costa Rica.

* Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama