Foreword: IMDG Code, 2006 Edition

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS), as
amended, deals with various aspects of maritime safety and contains in part
A of chapter VII the mandatory provisions governing the carriage of
dangerous goods in packaged form or in solid form in bulk. Regulation
VII/1.3 prohibits the carriage of dangerous goods except in accordance with
the provisions of part A of chapter VII, which are amplified by the
International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.

Regulation II-2/19 of the SOLAS Convention, as amended, specifies the
special requirements for a ship intended to carry dangerous goods, the keel
of which was laid or which was at a similar stage of construction on or after
1 July 2002.

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships,
1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78),
deals with various aspects of prevention of marine pollution, and contains in
its Annex III the mandatory provisions for the prevention of pollution by
harmful substances carried by sea in packaged form. Regulation 1(2)
prohibits the carriage of harmful substances in ships except in accordance
with the provisions of Annex III, which are also amplified by the IMDG Code.

In accordance with the Provisions concerning Reports on Incidents Involving
Harmful Substances (Protocol I to MARPOL 73/78), incidents involving losses
of such substances from ships must be reported by the master or other
person having charge of the ship concerned. Each substance defined as
harmful to the marine environment is identified as a marine pollutant or a
severe marine pollutant in column 4 of its entry in the Dangerous Goods List
and in the Index of the IMDG Code by the letters P or PP. Substances which
may be considered harmful to the marine environment only if they contain
certain quantities of marine pollutants or severe marine pollutants are
identified by the symbol · in the Dangerous Goods List and in the Index.

The IMDG Code that was adopted by resolution A.716(17) and amended by
Amendments 27 to 30 was recommended to Governments for adoption or for
use as the basis for national regulations in pursuance of their obligations
under regulation VII/1.4 of the 1974 SOLAS Convention, as amended, and
regulation 1(3) of Annex III of MARPOL 73/78. The IMDG Code, as amended,
attained mandatory status from 1 January 2004 under the umbrella of
SOLAS, 1974; however, some parts of the Code continue to be
recommendatory. Observance of the Code harmonizes the practices and
procedures followed in the carriage of dangerous goods by sea and ensures
compliance with the mandatory provisions of the SOLAS Convention and of
Annex III of MARPOL 73/78.

The Code, which sets out in detail the requirements applicable to each
individual substance, material or article, has undergone many changes, both
in layout and content, in order to keep pace with the expansion and progress
of industry. IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) is authorized by the
Organization's Assembly to adopt amendments to the Code, thus enabling
IMO to respond promptly to developments in transport.

The MSC at its eighty-first session agreed that, in order to facilitate the
multimodal transport of dangerous goods, the provisions of the IMDG Code,
2006, may be applied from 1 January 2007 on a voluntary basis, pending
their official entry into force on 1 January 2008 without any transitional
period. This is described in resolution MSC.205(81) and the Preamble to this
Code. It needs to be emphasized that, in the context of the language of the
Code, the words ``shall'', ``should'' and ``may'', when used in the Code,
mean that the relevant provisions are ``mandatory'', ``recommendatory''
and ``optional'', respectively.

The IMDG Code is also available as a fully searchable database on CD-ROM
(including the items within its Supplement). Intranet and Internet
(subscription) versions are also available. For more information, please visit
the IMO Publishing Service website at www.imo.org to see a live
demonstration of the CD-ROM version and obtain details of how online
subscription to the IMDG Code will work. If and when required, the IMO
website will also include any files that show errata or corrigenda to this
edition of the IMDG Code.