In the mid 1900’s there was a rise in the use of shipping containers to transport different products by sea. This is due to the modular design of the containers, their ability to support large weights and their metal build that can withstand salt water during marine travel. This increased usage prompted the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations to look at the different safety concerns involved. What they noticed was a need to regulate shipping containers specifically. They appointed a new International Convention for Safe Containers, an organization that gave rise to the name of the CSC plate.
The plate is now attached to every shipping container in circulation and it acts as a formal approval the guarantees the safety of the container during transport. To have a CSC plate attached, every container must meet specific standards for testing, inspection, and maintenance.
The placement of the plate is the same on every shipping container, it is located on the left door of the shipping container. Typically, the contents of the plate are in English, but they can also be in French. Also included on the plate is information about the manufacturer, the country of approval and weight measurements for each container. It also contains the words CSC Safety Approval without which the plate is meaningless.
Containers used for transport are required to undergo inspection every 30 months to ensure they continue to meet CSC safety standards, but new containers are allowed a five year grace period before their first inspection. These standards were put in place to ensure the safety of those working with and around shipping containers. To adhere to these standards, all of the new shipping containers that we at ATS manufacture are fitted with CSC approval. We also inspect all containers used for transport and we adhere to these strict standards for your safety and ours.
It is important to know that shipping containers used for storage do not require a CSC plate. However, we take the time to inspect every shipping container that comes through our yards to make sure they are wind and watertight and to help prevent harm to future owners. We bet you didn’t know much about CSC plating, but there is a lot of red tapes involved in fitting containers with them. We consider this to be a good thing because safety is important to everybody.