Since 2006, some seaports in China and some international shipping companies began to take measures to restrict or refuse the shipment of fireworks, which causes the difficulties in the export of Chinese fireworks and there are risks that a great number of firework export enterprises load the fireworks as general cargo deceptively.  These circumstances take place because many seaports and shipping companies begin to have doubts on the security and credibility of the products loaded by the fireworks export enterprises and there are indeed a few enterprises loading the goods with the false report and the concealment of information for the near-term interests, posing great threats to the safety of the entire sea transportation.  The IFA sets up this plan with a view to solving such problems and ensures the security in fireworks transportation.

    It aims to meet the following objectives by the supervision and management of fireworks containers: 

    1. Set up the self-management consciousness of the industry and self-discipline of the industry so as to assist the government in regulating the fireworks industry and promote the sound development of the industry. 

    2.Enhance the reputation of the fireworks exported from China so as to let the shipping companies and seaports undertake the fireworks transportation at ease, promote the unobstructed export transportation of fireworks and ensure the transportation safety of fireworks. 

    1. IFA enters into the cooperation agreement on the supervision of containers with the seaport and shipping companies to define the duties and obligations of both parties. The seaport and shipping companies accept the Fireworks Transportation Safety Supervision Center supervised packing conclusions on the fireworks containers, ship the supervised containers, ensure the unobstructed export transportation of fireworks and control the transportation costs within the reasonable scope.

    2. IFA has "Fireworks Transportation Safety Supervision Center" (hereinafter "Center") which sets out "Procedures for Supervised Packing of Fireworks Containers and the Check List" and related management policies and operating rules. IFA executes management and supervision of the "Center".

    3. The "Center" executes the supervised packing of exported fireworks containers in strict compliance with the "Procedures for Supervised Packing of Fireworks Containers and the Check List" and is responsible for accepting the complaints and handling the quality accidents and disputes as well as preparing related documents.

    4. Procedures for Supervised Packing of Fireworks Containers

    4.1 The enterprises willing to export fireworks apply for supervised packing of containers at the "Center" at their own free will.

    4.2 The enterprises shall apply several hours in advance of the packing and the advance time shall be based on the time required for the Center to accept and the supervising organ's staff to arrive at the place of packing as the minimum.  Meanwhile, the applicant shall submit the following documents to the Center: "Application for Supervised Packing of Fireworks Container", "List of Products to be Packed in Fireworks Container", report on the classification of danger in transportation of display shell products issued by the legal test agency and the report on the thermal stabilization test of smokeless fireworks issued by the legal test agency.

    4.3 The Center will examine the application document on site after accepting the application and, if the enterprise passes the examination, it will promptly assign supervision tasks and transfer the application document. There shall be two persons present on the site of supervised packing.

    4.4. When the personnel of supervision have arrived at the place of packing, they shall carry out the supervised packing based on the following procedures:

    4.4.1 Check if the quantity and variety of the products to be packed consistent with the "List of Products to be Packed in Fireworks Container" provided by the applicant;

    4.4.2 Conduct unpacking inspection on all products by random sampling and the inspection items comply with the Sampling Check List in this Regulation;

    4.4.3 Before packing, the supervising personnel shall register the container No. and check the container. He/she will require the shipper to clean the unclean containers and replace the damaged, unstable and leaking containers;

    4.4.4 During the packing, the supervising personnel shall observe from the very beginning to the end and, if he/she finds any damaged packing boxes, he/she shall request the applicant to replace or remove the box immediately; if he/she finds that in the containers there are upside-down packing boxes or spaces that may cause the tipping of packing boxes, he/she shall request the loader to rectify immediately.

    4.4.5 When non-conformities or general violations are found during the inspection, the supervising personnel shall immediately require the applicant to rectify all products involved and, if such products cannot be rectified, it shall remove all of these products.  If the applicant does not want to rectify as required, the supervising personnel shall terminate the supervision and fills in "Report on Termination of Supervision";

    4.4.6 If serious violations are found during the inspection, the supervising personnel shall terminate the supervision immediately and fills in "Report on Termination of Supervision";

    4.4.7 After the products pass the sampling inspection, identify the highest class of danger in transportation in this batch of products to be packed and check if the classification signs of danger in transportation for each product is correctly affixed and request the applicant to rectify immediately the incorrect ones;

    4.4.8 After the sampling inspection, the supervising personnel shall seal up all opened packing boxes and put the "Manual of Supervised Packing" in the box.

    4.4.9 After the supervised packing, the supervising personnel shall fill in on site "Original Record of Supervised Packing of Fireworks Container" according to truth, which is to be signed by the representatives of applicant and all supervising personnel.

    4.5 After the supervised packing, the supervising personnel shall immediately deliver the "Original Record of Supervised Packing of Fireworks Container" or "Report on Termination of Supervision" to "Center" for examination. If they pass the examination, the "Center" will issue "IFA Report on Supervised Packing of Fireworks Container". Upon receipt of the Report on Termination of Supervision from the supervising organ, the Center will notify the violation acts listed in the report to the cooperative ports and shipping companies and blacklist the enterprises with serious violations. The blacklisted enterprises will be refused in the future application of supervised packing of containers.  The "blacklist" will be released by the Center to the cooperative ports and shipping companies.

 

    5. Sampling Check List

 

Sampling Check List for IFA's supervised packing of fireworks container