International freight insurance provider TT Club has warned organisations involved in the supply of plastic pellets or ‘nurdles’ of the dangers to the marine environment of spillage, urging them to take steps to ensure their safe carriage.

The insurer says that with the ever-increasing focus on care for the marine environment, greater attention must be afforded to the particular risks associated with the transport of microplastic pellets. Commonly referred to as ‘nurdles’, the plastic items are the building blocks used in the production of most plastic products. Concerns about the universal use of secure packaging, as well as the stability of these receptacles and their weight distribution within sea containers are mounting.

The consequences of a spillage rank highest in the urgent requirement to minimise incidents involving these cargoes in transit according to TT Club. Typically measuring just a few millimetres in diameter, the release of nurdles into the sea, other waterways or the environment in general can have severe ecological implications. Accumulating in the stomach of any creature consuming them they have a negative effect on nourishment and nurdles have a unique chemical composition that enable the absorption of toxins, adding to risks to the food chain of creatures from fish to birds, and from microbes, insects, and small mammals.

Josh Finch, logistics risk manager at TT Club, said: “Some estimates count as many as one in ten containerised consignments experience some form of spillage. Additionally, packing of bulk road and rail tank containers, often undertaken outside, often incurs incidental spillages. A greater understanding of the risks involved in handling and transporting these products is required.”

Advisory information produced by TT covers the chief risk cause of stability of the cargo within the wide range of packaging options available, as well as emphasis on the correct weight distribution to reduce movement during sea voyages in particular.

Finch added: “There are no easy solutions to the challenges of safely transporting nurdles. Tank containers are viewed as costly, while bags split and shift in transit. However, it is important to emphasise that the risks to safety are not commonly understood, and that the environmental repercussions of spillages are a danger throughout the supply chain – on land and for the oceans. As the industry considers, particularly at the IMO, how to address these issues, a proactive approach to risk mitigation is advisable.”

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