Containers and International Transportation

The objectives of the subject “Containers and International Transportation” are the following.

1. To understand the role of the International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport
2. To understand the importance of the Containerisation in the international transport
3. To know the marking requirements for the Containers (BIC Code, plates, identification...)
4. To analyse the main international conventions related to the Containerisation

Description - Containers and International Transportation.

The Bureau International des Containers (International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport) was founded in 1933 as a neutral, non-profit international organisation whose mission is to promote the safe and sustainable expansion of the Containerisation and intermodal transport.

The International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport (BIC) publishes and maintains the BIC Code Register since 1970. The BIC Code is a container owner code.

1. The BIC Code allows an adequate identification of the containers and facilitates the border crossing without delays.
2. BIC Code or ISO Alpha Codes: International Identification Codes of Container Owners
3. ISO 6346 Standard: Coding, identification and marking of cargo containers.

The BIC Code (International Identification Codes of Container Owners) is accepted by:

1. World Customs Organisation (WCO)
2. Customs Convention on Containers
3. TIR Convention
4. International Road Transport Union (IRU)
5. International Union of Railways (UIC)
6. International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)
7. International Air Transport Association (IATA)

International Party Identification and Location Codes (LOCODES) of the United Nations: encoded geographic identification

The International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport (BIC) is an observer member in:

1. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO, Chicago Convention)
2. International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
3. World Customs Organisation (OMA)
4. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Currently, the International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport has more than 2,300 companies that operate containers in more than 127 countries.

ILU Code for Road-Rail Combined Transport

International conventions of the International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport that have contributed to the expansion of the Containerisation:

1. Customs Convention on Containers (CCC) 1972
2. Istanbul Convention de 1990
3. International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC) 1972

In 1933, the International Chamber of Commerce created the International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport

Headquarters of the International Office for the Containers and Intermodal Transport: Paris (France)

Source: International Office for the Containers and Intermodal Transport

International Guidelines on Safe Load Securing for Road Transport

Member countries of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO): Albania, Germany, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong (China), Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (China), Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, North Korea, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Samoa, San Marino, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Somalia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Sweden, Switzerland, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, East Timor, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe