---
title: Container Shipping Calls for Action on Lithium Battery Cargo Loophole
description: Typhoon delays strike China ports. Find out how the current shipping disruptions affect global supply chains.
image: https://news.mtflogistics.com.au/hubfs/17-1.jpg
---

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# Container Shipping Calls for Action on Lithium Battery Cargo Loophole

![Daniel](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e)

 Daniel

September 16, 2026

![18-1](https://news.mtflogistics.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/18-1.jpg?width=768&height=430&name=18-1.jpg)

The liner shipping lobby group at the World Shipping Council (WSC) is calling on governments to do away with a loophole that allow lithium battery cargo in containers. It has termed the loophole as dangerous since it allows goods with lithium batteries to be classified as ordinary cargo without notifying carriers. 

Special Provision 188 of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code is the offending clause. Smaller batteries are exempt from dangerous goods rule with no limit specified on how many can be consolidated inside a single container.

The risk of container fires has intensified for the third consecutive year with lithium batteries being the most serious emerging risk.

A container carrying 4,200 laptops holds about 416 kWh of energy, the equivalent of 3 or 4 electric vehicles, without the requirement for dangerous goods documentation.

Joe Kramek, WSC president and CEO, has said that the SP188 exemption was intended to simplify transport of goods with smaller batteries but not to make entire container loads invisible. The loophole around the SP188 exemption will come up for debate at the IMO’s cargo and container sub-committee in London.

Prevention needs to be move further up the chain with dangerous goods screened and declared at booking and not after loading. The risk of shipping lithium batteries will them be properly managed.

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