23/09/2026
World Shipping Council calls for IMO action on lithium battery cargo safety gap.
The World Shipping Council is urging governments to close what it says is a dangerous loophole in international shipping rules that can allow containers packed with thousands of lithium batteries to move without carriers knowing they are onboard.
The issue centers on Special Provision 188 of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, which exempts certain smaller lithium batteries from some dangerous goods requirements when they meet specific testing, packaging and capacity limits.
But WSC says the exemption does not limit how many qualifying batteries can be packed into a single container.
That means a container carrying roughly 4,200 laptops could hold about 416 kWh of stored energy — comparable to three or four electric vehicles — without requiring dangerous goods documentation or placarding, according to the group.
“Right now, a container can be packed with thousands of lithium batteries and still travel without being declared as dangerous goods,” said WSC President and CEO Joe Kramek. “The SP188 exemption was intended to simplify the transport of individual devices with small batteries, not to make entire container loads invisible.”
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