From a record number of over thirty entries VIKING Life-Saving Equipment A/S was announced the winner for its innovative HydroPen system designed to fight onboard container fires. Both PSA International and Cargotec Sweden AB were highly commended.
The ICHCA International (ICHCA) and TT Club collaboration once more recognised the crucial role played by organisations across the world in constantly searching for better solutions to the challenges of improved safety in the cargo handing industry. While the three short-listed entries, and particularly the eventual winner VIKING, were to be congratulated, the efforts of all the organisations that provided details of their innovations are to be admired. Their striving for improved safety underlines the need for increased vigilance in the cargo handling and freight transport sector to reduce the loss of life and damage to property while facilitating global trade.
The ceremony, held virtually at TT Club’s offices in London was aired this afternoon and addressed by Heike Deggim, Director of Maritime Safety Division, International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has been a consistent supporter of the Awards both currently, and in the past. The ceremony also gave an opportunity for each of the three short-listed companies to give a presentation of their successful safety innovations. A recording of the whole event will be available shortly on ICHCA and TT’s websites.
Hosting the presentation on behalf of ICHCA was Richard Steele, the association’s CEO. “The list of innovations from our award entrants is truly exciting,” he said. “Innovation doesn’t just happen by itself. All the participants have put in hard work, drive and ambition and I am sure there are many entries not short-listed today that will inspire others in the industry and achieve practical success in reducing accidents. To that end we will be providing a digest of all the entries in the coming months.”
Steele also thanked the panel of judges, made up of professionals from across the industry including representation from the International Transport Worker’s Federation (ITF) for their dedicated conscientious work.
The winner, VIKING’s HydroPen helps address the increasing incidence of fire in containers while onboard ships at sea. The complexity of the cargoes carried and the frequent challenge of accessing the containers makes fighting fires most difficult for the first responders, the ships crew. HydroPen enables such fires to be attended from a safe distance and the judges were particularly impressed by the specific online training that is provided with each unit.
PSA International’s highly commended Video Analytics solution helps with preventing in-terminal collisions of the heavy cargo handling equipment that can be so damaging to both life and cargo, while Cargotec’s innovation deals with the tricky task of container inspections from below; safely identifying any damage to the under-side of containers and ensuring they are clean and free of any invasive pests.
TT Club was delighted with the industry response this, the fourth, Innovation in Safety Award Mike Yarwood is the international insurer of cargo handler’s Managing Director, Loss Prevention. “It is hugely encouraging to have so many entrants seeking to solve a host of challenges from the provision of geo-spatial data and predictive maintenance software to technology that measures local climatic conditions. The last two years have been incredibly busy and difficult for all concerned and safety issues have arguably increased significantly. It is good to see that despite these conditions the industry’s commitment to be resilient and increase safety is undiminished.”
Peregrine Storrs-Fox, TT’s Risk Management Director commented, “This Award was inaugurated to celebrate solutions that have proven to make the industry workplace safer. We find that sharing such ideas openly is core to the Club’s mission to make the industry safer and more secure.”
Bill Brassington, Chair of the ICHCA Technical Panel was keen to emphasise the partners in organising the Award’s consistent efforts to improve safety. “In recent years the shipping industry has suffered a number of severe fires originating in containers and the TT Club and ICHCA have been campaigning consistently to reduce these life-threatening events,” he highlighted. “Frequent webinars and publications have been dedicated to creating a greater awareness of the difficulties in containing fires both below and on deck especially where the container is high in the stack. It is therefore heartening to congratulate VIKING Life-Saving Equipment and their innovative HydroPen System. I would also like to congratulate all of the entrants to the TT Club Innovation in Safety Awards; I am sure that the diverse and fascinating subjects that they covered taxed the judges deeply.”
