WSC calls for governments to close dangerous goods regulation gaps for lithium batteries in shipping to enhance safety and risk management.
The World Shipping Council (WSC), the trade association representing the international liner shipping industry, is urging governments to close a gap in international dangerous goods rules that allows containers packed with thousands of lithium batteries to travel by sea without carriers being informed of their presence. This appeal comes as battery transport accelerates worldwide and cargo fires remain a persistent hazard at sea.
The regulatory gap exists within the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, the framework that governs how hazardous cargo moves across the world's oceans. Under Special Provision 188 (SP188), smaller lithium batteries are exempt from certain requirements when they meet specified criteria for testing, packaging, and watt-hour capacity. This exemption was designed to simplify the movement of individual devices. However, the Code does not set a ceiling on how many exempt batteries may be consolidated inside a single container.
The scale of this loophole becomes evident in a single example. A container carrying roughly 4,200 laptops could hold approximately 416 kilowatt-hours of stored energy—the equivalent of three or four electric vehicles—without any requirement for 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."
The concern is grounded in the market momentum that cargo owners and their logistics partners already feel across their supply chains. According to the International Energy Agency, global lithium-ion battery deployment in 2025 was six times higher than in 2020, with battery demand projected to double by 2030. As those volumes climb, so does the frequency of undeclared batteries entering the container flow.
The stakes are measurable. Insurer Allianz reports that a fire occurs aboard a container ship on average once every 17 days. For businesses that depend on reliable transit schedules and the integrity of their goods, an undeclared hazard represents both a safety threat and a source of costly disruption.
Batteries are moved safely every day when they are properly declared and their risks are actively managed. The problem, the WSC stresses, begins when carriers, crews, ports, and emergency responders do not know the hazard is present. Without that information, a carrier cannot accurately assess the risk, select appropriate stowage, separate the container from incompatible cargo, or prepare an informed emergency response.
"We know what can happen when hazards are invisible," Kramek said. "Batteries shipped under the exemption have caused serious container fires, putting people, ports, ships, and the marine environment at risk."
The WSC has not advanced its case alone. Supported by five governments and a broad coalition of industry organizations, it has submitted a paper to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for consideration. The submission proposes a potential maximum container-level threshold, above which battery shipments would have to be declared and potentially placarded—restoring visibility without disrupting the everyday movement of individual devices.
"The current rules are not working as intended," Kramek said. "As battery shipments continue to grow, we need a better solution that makes these cargoes visible and allows the risks to be properly managed."
Governments will take up the issue at the IMO's Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers, which meets in London from September 14 to 18, 2026. The outcome carries direct consequences for the businesses that own, forward, and import high-value goods, since clearer declaration rules translate into better-informed stowage decisions, stronger risk management, and greater confidence that shipments will reach their markets intact.
The WSC's message frames the reform as a shared interest across the supply chain: making battery cargoes visible is not simply a compliance exercise—it is a safeguard for the vessels, ports, and goods that keep global trade moving.
