Safe Containers

Act: Safe Containers Convention Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-1
Regulation: Safe Containers Convention Regulations, SOR/82-1038, as amended 

To Whom Does This Apply?

To anyone who uses new and existing containers for international transport, except those containers specially designed for air transport.

A "container" means an article of transport equipment: 

• of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use;
• specially designed to facilitate the transport of goods, by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reloading;
• designed to be secured and/or readily handled, having corner fittings for these purposes; and
• of a size such that the area enclosed by the four outer bottom corners is either:
  • at least 14 m2 (150 ft.2) or
  • at least 7 m2 (75 s ft.2) if it is fitted with top corner fittings.

A "container" does not include vehicles or packaging. However, containers carried on chassis are included.

Summary

The Safe Containers Convention Act implements the International Convention for Safe Containers which was signed by Canada in recognition of: 

• the need to maintain a high level of safety of human life in the handling, stacking and transporting of containers;
• the need to facilitate international container transport; and
• the advantages of formalizing common international safety requirements.

The Safe Containers Convention Regulations govern: 

• the approval of containers and their maintenance and repair;
• organizations authorized to approve containers, and the revocation of authorization;
• the detention of unsafe containers by inspectors;
• inquiries following incidents; and
• the disposal of containers.

Owners of containers are required to apply to the Board of Steamship Inspection for approval of proposed periodic examination procedures. Such approval, once a written request is received, would take about two to three weeks. One may apply through the Board of Inspection or through the regional offices.

All containers to which the convention applies must be approved. This is delegated to authorized classification societies in Canada (Lloyds, det Norsk, Veritas, Bureau Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping).

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Manitoba Contact(s):
Prairie and Northern Region
Transport Canada
344 Edmonton Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3C 0P6
Telephone: 204-983-3152
Toll-free (information): 1-888-463-0521
Web site: http://www.tc.gc.ca/en/menu.htm

National Contact(s):
Marine Safety
Transport Canada
Tower C, Place de Ville
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0N5
Telephone: 613-990-2309
Fax: 613-954-4731 / 998-8620
TTY Toll-free (hearing impaired): 1-888-675-6863
E-mail: webfeedback@tc.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.tc.gc.ca/marinesafety/menu.htm