Safety Data Sheets for Chemical Tankers

INTERTANKO, the International Parcel Tankers Association (IPTA), the Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI), the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) and the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council (DGAC) have completed a comprehensive information paper on the requirements for Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for Chemical Tankers. This information paper brings together the regulatory requirements and guidance governing the provision of SDS and outlines the key information that should be contained in a safety data sheet. This paper is intended to serve as a single point of reference for seafarers, owners and shippers.

SDSs are documents which convey hazard information to anyone who may be involved in the preparation, handling, use and/or carriage of substances of mixtures that may be hazardous. The information paper, intended as a brief overview of the various regulatory requirements and guidance governing the provision of SDSs, outlines the key information that should be contained in an SDS.

Members of INTERTANKO’s Chemical Tanker Committee and its Chemical Tanker Sub-Committee, highlighting the differing national and international regulations, had expressed a need for a document which brings together the different requirements that govern the need for SDS to be provided to the master of the ship.

“It is very good to see organisations from two vital parts of the supply chain – ship owners and shippers – come together in support of this document. It will provide seafarers with clarity and become an easy reference on the various requirements for the provision of, as well as on the contents of, Safety Data Sheets” – Capt. Steve Hardy of Interorient Marine Services Limited and Chairman of INTERTANKO’s Chemical Tanker Committee.

“This is timely and will be a very valuable reference document for the crew on the ships and staff in the offices. We also see it to be a valuable educational tool for our discussions with the manufacturers and shippers of products and who generate the safety data sheets” – Mr Roger Restaino of Stolt-Nielsen USA Inc. and Chairman of INTERTANKO’s Chemical Tanker Sub-Committee, Americas.

For further information, readers also have the benefit of a reading list provided at the end of the document.