Freight Container Examination Scheme: Application Approval

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A decision made 18 March 2016:

Decision Reference: MD - S - 2016 - 0015

Decision Summary Title :

Application for approval of a freight container examination scheme

Date of Decision Summary:

02 March 2016

Decision Summary Author:

Director of Health and Safety

Decision Summary:

Public or Exempt?

(State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)

Public

Type of Report:

Oral or Written?

Written

Person Giving

Oral Report:

n/a

Written Report

Title :

Application for approval of a freight container examination scheme

Date of Written Report:

02 March 2016

Written Report Author:

Director of Health and Safety

Written Report :

Public or Exempt?

(State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)

Public

Subject:

Application for approval of a freight container examination scheme.

Decision(s):

The Minister approved a freight container examination scheme

Reason(s) for Decision:

Regulation 6(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Freight containers Safety Convention)(Jersey) Regulations 1994 requires freight containers, as defined, to be examined in accordance with an examination scheme approved by the Minister. An application for approval of a freight container examination scheme was received and approval was recommended.

Resource Implications:

There are no implications for the financial or manpower resources of the States.

Action required:

Letter confirming approval by the Minister will be sent to the applicant, Rockayne (Jersey) Ltd, trading as Channel Island Lines.

Signature:

Position: Minister for Social Security

Date Signed:

Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Freight Container Examination Scheme: Application Approval

Application for approval of examination scheme for freight containers

Summary

The Health and Safety at Work (Freight Containers Safety Convention)(Jersey) Regulations 1994 (the ‘Regulations’) requires freight containers, (as defined), in use in Jersey to be maintained and periodically examined in accordance with an approved examination scheme.

Any company registered in Jersey which owns or leases freight containers needs to apply to the Minister for approval of its examination scheme. It also needs to demonstrate that the scheme is in accordance with the document ‘Conditions for approval of examination schemes and programmes’ (the ‘Conditions’) produced by the Inspectorate. This document sets out the arrangements which the examination scheme must contain, in accordance with Regulation 6(1) of the Regulations, in order to be considered by the Minster.

A company, trading as Channel Island Lines (CIL) has applied for approval of its examination scheme for the freight containers used on the Island. The recommendation is to grant approval.

Background to the Regulations

These Regulations were introduced in 1994 in response to the 1972 Convention for Safe Containers (‘the Convention’) which was ratified by the UK Government in 1978. As Jersey agreed to be party to the Convention, Jersey had a duty to bring in the Regulations, which it subsequently did. The Convention had two goals:

To maintain a high level of safety of human life in the transport and handling of containers by providing generally acceptable test procedures and related strength test
To facilitate the international transport of containers by providing uniform international safety regulations.

The Regulations contain a specific requirement for freight containers to be periodically examined:

Regulation 6(1) states ‘The examination referred to in Regulations 3(1)(d) and 3(3)(b) shall be in accordance with an examination scheme or programme approved by the Minister for the purposes of these Regulations.

The requirements and documentation produced in Jersey mirror that of the UK requirements and documentation.

Application for Approval

To secure approval, the following information is required:

A formal request for approval of examination arrangements under the UK Freight Container Regulations
A statement of which scheme of examination they intend to adopt (details of the recognised schemes are included in the Conditions)
Confirmation that the examinations will be carried out by a competent person in accordance with the information in the Conditions.

Channel Island Lines

Rockayne (Jersey) Ltd, trading as Channel Island Lines, have been operating in Jersey since the end of 2013 and submitted an application for approval of its examination scheme in February 2016.

Recommendation

From reviewing the application, it is recommended that approval be granted.

Director of Health and Safety

02 March 2016