WSC calls on governments to put tighter cap on shipping lithium batteries in cargo containers
Maritime cargo carrier industry group The World Shipping Council (WSC) is calling on governments to address what it calls a gap in international dangerous goods rules that allows containers carrying thousands of lithium batteries to be transported without carriers being informed of the hazard.
According to WSC, the call comes as battery transport grows rapidly and cargo fires remain a persistent risk at sea. Global lithium-ion battery deployment in 2025 was six times higher than in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency, with battery demand expected to double by 2030. And latest statistics by insurer Allianz show that a container ship fire occurs every 17 days, WSC said.
The loophole that contributes to those dangerous conditions is called Special Provision 188 of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, which exempts smaller batteries from certain requirements when they meet specified testing, packaging and capacity criteria. However, it places no limit on how many exempt batteries can be consolidated in one container, WSC said.
Under that policy, a container carrying around 4,200 laptops could therefore contain approximately 416 kWh of stored energy, equivalent to three or four electric vehicles, without requiring dangerous goods documentation or container placarding.
“Right now, a container can be packed with thousands of lithium batteries and still travel without being declared as dangerous goods,” said Joe Kramek, President and CEO of the World Shipping Council. “The SP188 exemption was intended to simplify the transport of individual devices with small batteries, not to make entire container loads invisible.”
To address the issue, WSC said it has been supported by five governments and a broad coalition of industry organizations in submitting a paper for consideration by the IMO. It sets out a potential maximum container-level threshold, above which battery shipments would have to be declared and potentially placarded.
