Container certification and grades
I believe you always wondered as well as we are often asked what grade are the containers we sell? A, B, C?
We will try to help clarify some of the confusion you might face yourself when dealing with containers. When purchasing new or second hand containers you will come across all sorts of grades and certification acronyms. ( WWT, CW, IICL, CSC or ACEP etc ) making it all sound complicated and confusing, when in actuality, it is fairly simple.
New/ Near New / One trip
Cargo Worthy minimum standard with valid CSC Plate. Interior will be minimum 95% mark free. Floor will be clean with no transferable marks or stains, but possible light scratches from transport. Near New may have minimal exterior surface corrosion, and negligible denting. Anywhere from just landed in the depot, to 5 years old fall into this grade
A Grade
Cargo Worthy minimum standard with valid CSC Plate. Interior will be minimum 80% mark free with some scuffing or scratching. Floor will be clean with minimal transferable marks or stains, with scratches not exceeding 2mm in depth. May have minimal exterior surface corrosion, and negligible denting. Near new, refurbished and used containers fall in to this grade
B Grade
Cargo Worthy or Wind Water Tight standard with or without valid CSC Plate. Wind and watertight. Interior will be minimum of 50% mark free, some scuffing or scratching and minor surface rust. Floor will be stained or marked and may also have minor delamination. Exterior may have more prevalent corrosion and dents. Container may have small amount of previous repairs/patches
C Grade
Structural condition of container may be Cargo Worthy, Wind Water Tight or As Is standard with or without valid CSC Plate. Interior will have extensive markings, scratches and corrosion. Floor will be stained or marked and may also have moderate delamination. Exterior will have extensive corrosion with a multitude of dents. Container may have several previous repairs/patches
D Grade
Structural condition of container is As Is standard without valid CSC Plate. Interior and Exterior will have extensive corrosion and or holes. Floor will have extensive staining and delamination. Major damaged containers fall into this grade
Salvage
These units are sold as is, sometimes are used for parts or just for the steel, because they’re missing doors, floors or parts of the walls or ceiling. They also can be torned apart or bent so they are unusable as a storage unit.
Also each grate has it’s own particularities, and can have the following acronyms.
- IICL – Institute of International Container Lessors – an organization which groups the largest container and chassis leasing companies worldwide. The IICL sets repair standards, by which all repairs are carried out, for its members when containers are off hired. IICL is the strictest criterion out there for used containers.
- CW – Cargo Worthy– Criterion under which a used shipping container is deemed suitable for the transport of cargo under TIR / UIC / CSC, and meets all the standards laid out in its original specification. The CW Cargo worthy standard generally implies that the container has a valid CSC. Cargo Worthiness can be certified by a third party container surveyor pursuant to a physical inspection of the used shipping container.
- WWT – Wind & Water Tight – a criterion under which containers are literally “wind and water tight”. In short, if you lock yourself inside the container, you should not see any light coming through the panels or roof. It should be noted that this criterion however makes no reference to the quality of the understructure. A WWT container should therefore not be considered safe for the transport of cargo; unless it is explicitly confirmed it meets the CSC. WWT is commonly used to describe and qualify used storage containers. WWT + CSC = CW !
- CSC – Convention for Safe Containers – established in 1972 to promote and maintain a high level of safety of human life in the transport and handling of containers by providing generally acceptable test procedures and related strength requirements. This has helped facilitate the international transport of containers by providing uniform international safety regulations.
- ACEP – Approved Continuous Examination Program – quality inspection programs put in place by container owners to monitor the condition and maintenance of their containers. As long as a unit is monitored under an ACEP, the periodic CSC re-inspection is not necessary. The exit from the program under which the container was (originally) built and maintained (in case of sale) means that containers will need to be inspected under CSC in order to be approved for shipping and will have an approval limited in time.
- ISO – International Standardization Organization – International organization based in Geneva working towards harmonizing worldwide technical standards; including those governing the construction of shipping containers.
So keep in mind when talking about grading standards it should be noted that grading is usually a company’s internal classification system and not an international standard for purchasing containers. This means, that although 2 companies could both classify their containers in terms of grade A, B, or C, it does not mean that a Grade A will be the same for both. These grading are not international standards, and tend to refer more to the cosmetics of the container rather than the structural quality.
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