10 Control (article VI)

10.1 General

10.1.1 This section concerns the control of containers under the Convention and does not address maintenance and examination issues.

10.1.2 For the purposes of effecting control (as envisaged in article VI of the Convention) Contracting Parties should only appoint authorized control officers of government bodies. Article VI requires that such control should be limited to verifying that the container carries a valid Safety Approval Plate, and an ACEP or a valid Next Examination Date (NED) marking, unless there is significant evidence for believing that the condition of the container is such as to create an obvious risk to safety.

10.2 Training of authorized control officers

The Contracting Party exercising control should ensure that authorized control officers have received the necessary training. This training should involve both theoretical and practical instruction.

10.3 Unsafe containers

10.3.1 Control officers who find a container that is in a condition that creates an obvious risk to safety should stop the container until it can be ensured that it is in a safe condition to continue in service.

10.3.2 All containers with serious structural deficiencies in structurally sensitive components (see section 10.4) should be considered to be in a condition that creates an obvious risk to safety.

10.3.3 Control officers should notify the container owner whenever a container is placed under control.

10.3.4 Control officers may permit the onward movement of a container that has been stopped to its ultimate destination providing that it is not lifted from its current means of transport.

10.3.5 Empty containers with serious structural deficiencies to structurally sensitive components are also deemed to place a person in danger. Empty containers are typically repositioned for repair at an owner-selected depot provided they can be safely moved; this can involve either a domestic or an international move. Any damaged container being so repositioned should be handled and transported with due regard to its structural deficiency. Clear signage should be placed on all sides and the top of the damaged container to indicate it is being moved for repairs only.

10.3.6 Empty containers with severe damage that prevents safe lifting of the container, e.g. damaged, misplaced or missing corner fittings or a failure of the connection between side walls and bottom side rails, should only be moved when carried on a platform-based container, such as a flat rack.

10.3.7 Major damage may be the result of significant impact which could have been caused by improper handling of the container or other containers, or significant movement of the cargo within the container. Therefore, special attention should be given to signs of recent impact damage.

10.3.8 Damage to a container may appear serious without creating an obvious risk to safety. Some damage, such as holes, may infringe customs requirements but may not be structurally significant.

10.4 Structurally sensitive components and definition of serious structural deficiencies for consideration by authorized control officers only

10.4.1 The structurally sensitive components of a container that should be examined for serious deficiencies are the:

.1 top rail;
.2 bottom rail;
.3 header;
.4 sill;
.5 corner posts;
.6 corner and intermediate fittings;
.7 understructure; and
.8 locking rods.

10.4.2 The criteria shown below should be used by the authorized control officers to make immediate out-of-service determinations or impose transport restrictions. They should not be used as repair and in-service criteria under a CSC ACEP or a periodic examination scheme. Figure 5 is a flow chart that illustrates the actions to be taken by an authorized control officer.

(i)	(ii)	(iii)	(iv)	(v)	(vi)	(vii)
Structurally sensitive component	Serious deficiency requiring immediate out of service determination (see also section 10.5)	Deficiency requiring advice to owner and restrictions for transport	Restrictions to be applied in case of deficiencies according to column (iii)
			Empty container		Loaded container
			Sea transport	Other modes	Sea transport	Other modes
Top rail	Local deformation to the rail in excess of 60 mm or separation or cracks or tears in the rail material in excess of 45 mm in length. (see Note 1)	Local deformation to the rail in excess of 40 mm or separation or cracks or tears in the rail material in excess of 10 mm in length. (see Note 1)	No restriction	No restriction	Bottom lifting not allowed, Top lifting allowed only by use of spreaders without chains	Bottom lifting not allowed, Top lifting allowed only by use of spreaders without chains
Top rail	Note 1 On some designs of tank containers the top rail is not a structurally significant component.
Bottom rail	Local deformation perpendicular to the rail in excess of 100 mm or separation cracks or tears in the rail's material in excess of 75 mm in length (see Note 2)	Local deformation perpendicular to the rail in excess of 60 mm or separation cracks or tears in the rail's material of the upper flange in excess of 25 mm in length; or of web in any length (see Note 2)	No restriction	No restriction	Lifting at (any) corner fitting not allowed	Lifting at (any) corner fitting not allowed
Bottom rail	Note 2 The rails material does not include the rail's bottom flange.
Header	Local deformation to the header in excess of 80 mm or cracks or tears in excess of 80 mm in length	Local deformation to the header in excess of 50 mm or cracks or tears in excess of 10 mm in length	Container shall not be overstowed	No restriction	Container shall not be overstowed	No restriction
Sill	Local deformation to the sill in excess of 100 mm or cracks or tears in excess of 100 mm in length.	Local deformation to the sill in excess of 60 mm or cracks or tears in excess of 10 mm in length	Container shall not be overstowed	No restrictions	Container shall not be overstowed	No restrictions
Corner posts	Local deformation to the post in excess of 50 mm or cracks or tears in excess of 50 mm in length	Local deformation to the post in excess of 30 mm or cracks or tears of any length	Container shall not be overstowed	No restrictions	Container shall not be overstowed	No restrictions
Corner and intermediate fittings	Missing corner fittings, any through cracks or tears in the fitting, any deformation of the fitting that precludes full engagement of the securing or lifting fittings (see Note 3) or any weld separation of adjoining components in excess of 50 mm in length	Weld separation of adjoining components of 50 mm or less	Container shall not be lifted on board a ship if the damaged fittings prevent safe lifting or securing.	Container shall be lifted and handled with special care	Container shall not be loaded on board a ship.	Container shall be lifted and handled with special care
		Any reduction in the thickness of the plate containing the top aperture that makes it less than 25 mm thick	Container shall be lifted and handled with special care Container shall not be overstowed when twistlocks have to be used	Container shall be lifted and handled with special care	Container shall not be lifted by the top corner fittings.	Container shall be lifted and handled with special care.
		Any reduction in the thickness of the plate containing the top aperture that makes it less than 26 mm thick	Container shall not be overstowed when fully automatic twistlocks are to be used	Container shall be lifted and handled with special care	Container shall not be used with fully automatic twistlocks.	Container shall be lifted and handled with special care.
	Note 3 The full engagement of securing or lifting fittings is precluded if there is any deformation of the fitting beyond 5 mm from its original plane, any aperture width greater than 66 mm, any aperture length greater than 127 mm or any reduction in thickness of the plate containing the top aperture that makes it less than 23 mm thick.
Understructure	Two or more adjacent cross members missing or detached from the bottom rails. 20% or more of the total number of cross members missing or detached. (see Note 4)	One or two cross members missing or detached (see Note 4)	No restrictions	No restrictions	No restrictions	No restrictions
		More than two cross members missing or detached (see Notes 4 & 5)	No restrictions	No restrictions	Maximum payload shall be restricted to 0.5 x P	Maximum payload shall be restricted to 0.5 x P
	Note 4 If onward transport is permitted according to sections 10.5, it is essential that detached cross members are precluded from falling free. Note 5 Careful cargo discharge is required as forklift capability of the understructure might be limited.
Locking rods	One or more inner locking rods are non-functional (see Note 6)	One or more outer locking rods are non-functional (see Note 6)	Container shall not be overstowed	No restriction	Container shall not be overstowed. Cargo shall be secured against the container frame and the door shall not be used to absorb acceleration forces – otherwise maximum payload shall be restricted to 0.5 P	Cargo shall be secured against the container frame and the door shall not be used to absorb acceleration forces – otherwise maximum payload shall be restricted to 0.5 P
	Note 6 Some containers are designed and approved (and so recorded on the CSC Plate) to operate with one door open or removed.

10.4.3 The effect of two or more items of damage in the same structurally sensitive component, even though each is less than that specified in the above table, could be equal to, or greater than, the effect of a single item of damage listed in the table. In such circumstances, the control officer may stop the container and seek further guidance from the Contracting Party.

10.4.4 For tank containers, the attachment of the shell to the container frame should also be examined for any readily visible serious structural deficiency comparable to that specified in the table. If any such serious structural deficiency is found in any of these attachments, the control officer should stop the container.

10.4.5 The end frame locking mechanism of platform containers with folding end frames and the hinge pins about which the end frame rotates are structurally sensitive components and should also be inspected for significant damage. Containers with folding end walls that cannot be locked in the erect position should not be moved with the end walls erect.

10.4.6 The deficiencies listed in paragraph 10.4.1 are not exhaustive for all types of containers or all possible deficiencies or combination of deficiencies.

10.5 International movement of containers under control

It is recognized that in any of the cases covered by this section the owner may wish to move a container to another territory where the appropriate corrective action can be more conveniently carried out. Control officers may permit such movements, but should take such measures as may be reasonably practicable to ensure that the movement is carried out safely and that the appropriate corrective action is indeed taken. In particular, the control officer permitting such a movement should consider whether it would be necessary to inform the control officer or officers in the other territory or countries through which the container is to be moved.

10.6 Notification concerning unsafe containers of a given approved series

If a considerable number of containers in a given approved series is found to be unsafe as a result of defects which may have existed prior to approval (article VI, paragraph 2), Administrations should notify the Organization as well as the Contracting Party concerned.

10.7 Containers that are not defective but have no Safety Approval Plate or that have an incorrectly completed plate

Containers that have no Safety Approval Plate or an incorrectly completed Safety Approval Plate should be stopped. However, where evidence can be produced either to the effect that such a container has been approved under the terms of the Convention or to the effect that such a container meets the standards of the Convention, the authority exercising control may permit the container to proceed to its destination for unloading, with the proviso that it shall be plated as expeditiously as may be practicable and not reloaded before it has been correctly plated under the Convention.

10.8 Containers that are "out of date"

A container being maintained under a Periodic Examination Scheme (PES) that is found to have marked on or near to its Safety Approval Plate a next maintenance examination date that is in the past should be stopped. However, the competent authority exercising control may permit the container to proceed to its destination for unloading with the proviso that it should be examined and updated as expeditiously as may be practicable and not reloaded before this has been done.

10.9 Containers that are missing their ACEP or NED marking

When there is neither a NED nor an ACEP marking on or near the Safety Approval Plate, the container should be stopped until it can be proven that the container is being operated and maintained under a valid programme. If the container is being operated under an approved ACEP the container should be allowed to continue its journey and the operator should be notified. The missing marking should be applied after unloading the container at the final destination and prior to its next reloading or at its next interchange, whichever is earlier.

10.10 Containers with defects when approved

Where a container appears to have become unsafe as a result of a defect that may have existed when the design of the container was approved, the Contracting Party that detected the defect should inform the Administration responsible for that approval.