Industry ramps up efforts against rogue lithium battery shipments

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Global Shippers Forum (GSF), the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the International Cargo Association (TIACA) are joining forces to crack down on rogue shipments of lithium batteries.

The industry is looking to improve recognition of counterfeit batteries, mislabelled shipments and noncompliance with regulations as consumer demand grows annually by 17%.

The organisations have launched an awareness campaign about the dangers of shipping undeclared lithium batteries and renewed calls for governments to issue and enforce criminal sanctions on guilty parties.

Credit: Tyler Lastovich

“Dangerous goods, including lithium batteries, are safe to transport if managed according to international regulations and standards. But we are seeing an increase in the number of incidents in which rogue shippers are not complying,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice president for airport, passenger, cargo and security.

“The industry is uniting to raise awareness of the need to comply. This include the launching of an incident reporting tool so that information on rogue shippers is shared. And we are asking governments to get much tougher with fines and penalties.”

The reporting tool will allow for real-time information about misdeclared consignments that will help to identify intentional acts of deception.

Meanwhile, the industry will be collaborating with the World Customs Organization (WCO) to develop educational programmes, and supporting an initiative by members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to adopt a cross-domain approach to customs, aviation security, manufacturing standards and consumer protection.

Source: IATA