Shashi Kallada's space

The Colleferro Incident: Fire and Explosion at KNDS Ammo Italy, 13 August 2026 A fire in the powder-pressing department of the KNDS Ammo Italy plant near Rome escalated into a major explosion on 13 August 2026. No injuries were reported. Here's what's confirmed so far — and why the incident sits at the boundary between industrial safety law and Class 1 explosives regulation.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/08/14/the-colleferro-incident-fire-and-explosion-at-knds-ammo-italy-13-august-2026/

IMDG Compliant. Carrier Refused. Twenty Years of IMO Guidance on Class 7 Radioactive Cargo and Why It Has Not Worked In December 2018 I wrote about carriers and ports refusing IMDG-compliant Class 7 radioactive cargo despite advisory guidance from the IMO. Seven years on, the position is measurably worse on most indicators. This article examines the three principal IMO instruments in detail — FAL.6/Circ.12 (2005), Resolution A.984(24) (2005) and FAL 42/16/1 (2018) — explains why advisory instruments addressed to governments cannot change commercial decisions made by private carriers, and reports on where the IAEA's latest Denial of Shipment Working Group has reached.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/08/12/class-7-denial-of-shipment-imo-fal-circ-12-2026/

Book It Right and Pack It Tight: The Free IMDG Guide Every DG Stakeholder Should Read A plain-language breakdown of who owes what duty under the IMDG Code, and why "Book It Right and Pack It Tight" — now updated for Amendment 42-24 — belongs at the booking desk and the packing station, not filed away unread.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/08/11/book-it-right-and-pack-it-tight-imdg-guide/

End User Certificate in International Trade: When It’s Required, Who Demands It, and How It’s Verified When an end user certificate is required, who demands it, the formats used across the US, EU, UK and India, and how EUCs are authenticated and verified — with worked examples covering thiodiglycol and potassium permanganate.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/08/05/end-user-certificate-international-trade-guide/

Essential Tools for IMDG Code Compliance Skip the manual lookups. These four interactive tools help you find the right UN number for batteries and vehicles, calculate ISO tank and IBC degree of filling, and check segregation requirements — all built to IMDG Code 42-24.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/08/04/imdg-code-compliance-tools/

Radioactive Cargo by Sea: When IMDG Compliance Is Not Enough When a charterer offers radioactive cargo, IMDG compliance is only half the question. The half that determines whether your P&I covers you is governed by the UK Nuclear Installations Act 1965 — not the IMDG Code. This article explains the Excepted Matter test, what the four major clubs require, and what happens when a cargo declared "fissile excepted" turns out not to be Excepted Matter at all.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/08/03/radioactive-cargo-sea-pi-cover-excepted-matter/

To the LCL Operator: This Is What You’re Actually Signing Up For When You Mix Dangerous Goods The carrier's DG Desk tells you what can travel together — but Box 20 carries your signature, not theirs. Here's exactly where CTU Code duties end and IMDG Code liability begins for LCL packers.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/31/to-the-lcl-operator-this-is-what-youre-actually-signing-up-for-when-you-mix-dangerous-goods/

Kenya’s New ACD Rule: No Reference Code, No Entry From August 3, 2026 KRA's Advance Cargo Declaration platform goes live 3 August 2026 for all containerised cargo to Kenya. Full process, ACD number format, and compliance guide.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/30/kenyas-new-acd-rule-no-reference-code-no-entry-from-august-3-2026/

Oman Mandates Palletization for All Imports: Regulatory Requirements, Exemptions, and Action Items for Shippers Oman Customs has rolled out one of the Gulf's toughest new cargo-handling rules: no compliant pallet, no entry.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/30/oman-customs-mandatory-palletization-rule-2026/

The Making of the IMDG Code: A History of Maritime Dangerous Goods Regulation A practitioner's history of how fragmented, voluntary rules for shipping hazardous cargo became today's mandatory global framework — SOLAS Chapter VII, the IMDG Code, IBC/IGC Codes and IMSBC Code — traced from a 1912 warning in Antwerp to Amendment 42-24.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/29/the-making-of-the-imdg-code-a-history-of-maritime-dangerous-goods-regulation/

The Reverse Battery Problem: Shipping Spent Electric Vehicle Modules Under IMDG Code and Basel Convention Getting the IMDG classification right on a spent EV battery module is only half the compliance picture. The other half is the Basel Convention — and whether that "damaged/defective" call also just triggered a Prior Informed Consent requirement.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/27/the-next-battery-headache-shipping-spent-disassembled-and-damaged-ev-battery-modules-under-imdg-code/

Battery Management Systems: The Engineering Layer Behind Lithium Battery Safety at Sea A battery management system is the first line of defence against lithium battery fires at sea. Here's what a BMS does, whether it's mandatory, and how UN 38.3 and the IMDG Code actually require it — in practice, if not by name.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/23/battery-management-systems-the-engineering-layer-behind-lithium-battery-safety-at-sea/

From Bedroom to Bulk Carrier: What Lithium Battery Fires Are Really Teaching Us Thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries has killed people from a London bedroom to a Pacific cargo ship. This fact-checked article traces every documented incident back to the fire service, flag-state investigation, or marine insurer that reported it, and draws out exactly what each one teaches — about the batteries themselves, not just the regulations that followed.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/20/from-bedroom-to-bulk-carrier-what-lithium-battery-fires-are-really-teaching-us/

The 80/20 Rule Isn’t Just for Dangerous Goods Surge doesn't check the UN number. Why the IMDG Code's 80/20 degree-of-filling principle applies equally to non-regulated liquids in portable tanks. Free calculator inside.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/18/the-80-20-rule-isnt-just-for-dangerous-goods/

Fumigated Cargo Transport Units at Sea: IMDG 5.5.2, UN 3359 and the Ventilated/Non-Ventilated Divide Following on from our ISPM 15 wood packaging article — what happens once the container itself, not just the pallet inside it, has been fumigated for its sea voyage.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/13/fumigated-cargo-transport-units-at-sea-imdg-5-5-2-un-3359-and-the-ventilated-non-ventilated-divide/

ISPM 15 Explained: What Every Shipper, Freight Forwarder and Port Operator Needs to Know About Wood Packaging Material A practitioner's guide to ISPM 15 — scope, exemptions, debarking, approved treatments, marking, and where import rejections actually come from.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/09/ispm-15-explained-what-every-shipper-freight-forwarder-and-port-operator-needs-to-know-about-wood-packaging-material/

Tank Release and Filling Process: A Working Flowchart for Shippers and ISO Tank Operators A working 5-phase flowchart tracing an ISO tank from release to vessel loading — covering T-code verification, tank certificate checks, degree-of-filling calculations, marking/placarding, and DGD sequencing under IMDG Code Amendment 42-24. Built for shippers and tank operators who need the compliance gate at each step, not just the process.... https://shashikallada.com/2026/07/06/tank-release-and-filling-process-a-working-flowchart-for-shippers-and-iso-tank-operators/