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The Use Of Seals In Shipping and Transportation
By now you have an idea how important sealing your container from individual getting entry to the container and transporting unlawful cargo, such as contraband or drugs.
I am pretty much sure that you have 2 questions in your mind, Where on the container should I put the seal and How do I put on the container seal, this can be done from yourself easily all you need is basic knowledge that we will discuss along with How? and Where? to place Shipping Container Seal Correctly.
There are different types of security seals are using for shipping containers and most popular and ideal seal is “BOLT SEAL” and made of heavy-duty steel, coated in tough weather-resistant, anti-corrosive plastic also a bolt seal comes as a single unit with its unique number, logo of the company, bar code embossed or laser-printed on both the pin as well as the barrel.
Tip :- It is good practice to check that the numbers match between both the pin and the barrel
Now you have an idea what is the BOLT SEAL and the practice of unique number checking prior to use, Now must separate the barrel and the pin by snapping the plastic connector between the two. Here we are ready for place Seal
Where on the container should I put the seal ?
Having a container seal is necessary, but making sure it’s fastened correctly is even more important. Every container has two doors and each door has two locking rods, always you need to first close the left door and then the right door. Now assume both doors are closed properly and think about where should you put the seal.
Seals can be placed on a shipping container in six different locations as shown above image, but the most effective place where the container seal needs to be put is on the right door, as will be opened first.
Not for all the containers having six locations to place the container, different containers having different places but right side door locking points never changed ( door handle locking point or security cam locking point )
Some shipping lines have SecuraCam Containers were constructed after 2004 and those containers have an anti-theft locking device (ATD) where a high security seal can be fixed on the bottom of the third locking rod.
How many Seals can I put on my Container ?
In general there is no rule on how many seals you must put on a shipping container, Every shipping container must have at least one seal before a shipping line will allow it to be shipped.
The seals can be placed on either one or both of the right locking rods. You can add an additional seals to the left door if necessary, but it really doesn’t important in terms of security unless the cargo cannot be moved out by one door.
How to seal a Shipping Container Correctly ?
Now you have a basic idea about seal that you are using, how many seals that can put on container, and where on the container should put the seal, When you’re finished stuffing your container, close the doors, It can then be easily fixed by pressing the open end of the pin firmly through the appropriate openings in the lock-rod, into the sealed barrel. As it locks into place, you might hear a soft click. and be informed that, once the container seal is secured, the only way to open it is to cut the pin with a seal or bolt cutter.
Tip:- Some shippers forward images of the closed seal with the date and time stamp to the consignee. Such images are useful in the event of cargo loss or damage because they assist surveyors and insurance companies in determining the authenticity of a claim.
Correct Container Seal Placement
All container seals are issued and supplied by the shipping lines with which the booking was made. and they have their own Seal Management Policies, you must follow the policy before shipped your container.
- Maersk Line Container Seal Policy
- CMA-CGM Container Seal Policy
- Evergreen Container Seal Policy
- Cosco Line Container Seal Policy
- MSC Line Container Seal Policy
- Hamburg Sud Container Seal policy
- Hapag Lloyd Container Seal Policy
- ONE Line Container Seal Policy
- OOCL Container Seal Policy
- HMM Container Seal Policy
- PIL Container Seal Policy
- YML Container Seal Policy
- Wanhai Container Seal Policy
- Zim Container Seal Policy
Disclaimer: The views expressed by the authors in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CONTAINER SURVEYOR. Data and charts, if utilized, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and CONTAINER SURVEYOR do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader.
