Requirements and Regulations for Container Ships

Container ships, specialized cargo ships, are an integral part of the international trade and shipping industry. These vessels typically traverse open seas and are subject to a number of federal and international regulations. Below is an overview of pertinent information on the classification and regulation of container ships.

The Classification of Container Ships

Requirements – including size limitations – vary based on the classification of a container ship. Classification of vessel size is largely related to the ship’s ability to pass through certain maritime passages:

• Panamax: Maximum size to pass through the Panama Canal. They are in the range of 50,000 to 80,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt) and measure up to 965 feet long, 106 feet wide (beam), and 39.5 feet draft.
• Suezmax: Maximum size to pass through the Suez Canal. Maximum is 150,000 dwt, 740 feet long, 78 feet wide (beam), and 26 feet draft.
• Capesize: Too large to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals. Must go around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America to pass from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean.

These are just a few examples of size classifications. Others also exist.

Additional categorizations exist to outline the safe passage of container ships through specific geographic crossings, such as the Panama Canal.

Regulating Container Ships for Safe Passage and Loading/Unloading

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), in large part, considers container ships to be cargo ships for the purposes of establishing safety codes and standards. Therefore, container ships are subject to many of the same rules and regulations outlined for all manner of cargo ships.

Many important regulations are addressed under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). This includes matters relating to hatch covers. It also regulates specific safety measures for open-top ships that cannot employ automatic fire-suppression systems. In these cases, other fire-fighting tools must be readily available in the event of an emergency.

IMO regulations and SOLAS also outline matters of intact stability. This includes a code to establish stability criteria with the intention of protecting people, property and the natural environment from undue harm. The code provides measurements and guidelines for the safe loading and unloading of cargo, as well as vessel design. The intention is to keep container ships afloat even when there is flooding of the hold.

Also relevant is the International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC). This code took effect in 1977 and addresses two primary factors:

• safe container handling; and
• promotion of international container transportation.

Additional guidelines from the IMO and International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code provide rules for the safe transportation of specific cargo and construction of cargo containers. The standards refer to packing, container traffic and stowage of containers. It also requires separating substances that can create dangerous reactions when combined. Classes of substances the IMDG covers include:

• explosives;
• gases;
• flammable liquids;
• flammable solids;
• oxidizing substances and organic peroxides;
• toxic and infectious substances;
• radioactive material;
• corrosive substances; and
• miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles.

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