employers must periodically evaluate workers knowledge using written tests, practical demonstrations or other means.

Cargo ships are enduring rough seas in the Pacific Ocean in the first part of 2021, maritime insurance executives said roughly 3,000 containers have been lost at sea over the past two months alone. Most recent container ship lost an estimated 750 boxes sailing through heavy seas from China to Los Angeles, the latest in a spate of incidents in which boxes carrying millions of dollars’ worth of goods have gone overboard.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) provided a status update on the forthcoming IMDG Code Amendment 40-20 (i.e., the 2020 Edition) this week.IMO announced that mandatory compliance with the forthcoming IMDG Codeamendment will start on June 1, 2022. IMO plans to release Amendment 40–20 in early 2021. The new Code may be applied voluntarily after January 1, 2021. Under normal conditions, Amendment 40-20 would have been published in Fall 2020. Compliance with a new IMDG Code amendment is voluntary in the first year following publication (i.e., 2021) and mandatory in the second year following publication (i.e., after January 1, 2022).