Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Numerous incidents in freight transportation are linked to improper container packaging — including inadequate cargo securing, overloading, and incorrect declaration of contents.

Such errors cause serious concern, as civilians and transport-logistics workers who do not oversee the packaging process often become victims of accidents.

Poor packaging practices — particularly regarding load distribution, securing, classification, and declaration — cost the global transport and logistics industry over 6 billion US dollars annually. Therefore, it is critically important to protect human lives and reduce financial losses in the sector by implementing sound, scientifically grounded cargo packaging practices and ensuring access to them.

Guidance on these practices is provided in the ILO-IMO-UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code) — a non-mandatory global framework for the safe handling and packing of containers during land and sea transportation.

This Code was discussed at a UNECE seminar held in Tashkent on May 15–16, 2025. The event was organized by UNECE in cooperation with Uzbek Railways (Oʻzbekiston Temir Yoʻllari) and the Tashkent Commodity Terminal, with financial support from the Russian Federation.

Experts from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey, as well as specialists from Russia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, reviewed key issues including the roles and responsibilities for packaging and handling cargo in containers; loading methods depending on cargo type and packaging; container labeling; cargo securing techniques; and declaration rules.

Practical exercises at the Tashkent Commodity Terminal included visual inspections of containers and their markings, as well as developing and testing securing methods for cable drums, pallets with stones, and heating equipment through tilt tests.

The seminar facilitated the exchange of knowledge and experience aimed at preventing improper packaging and securing practices. It also enhanced the awareness of specialists working on the Trans-Caspian and Almaty–Tehran–Istanbul freight corridors about the CTU Code and its practical application, especially concerning cargo loading and securing procedures.