The Charcoal DGD, Field by Field, Including the New SP 978 Data
By Mohamad Sinno, Charcoal Expert · Last updated
The entry that bounces a charcoal dangerous goods declaration first is the proper shipping name: on a UN 1361 shipment it is CARBON, animal or vegetable origin — not "charcoal".
The fields a charcoal DGD must carry in 2026
A charcoal dangerous goods declaration states UN 1361; the proper shipping name CARBON, animal or vegetable origin; Class 4.2; packing group III; and, since 1 January 2026, the production date, packing date, and packing-day temperature. It is the shipper's own document — Hapag-Lloyd required one from 1 April 2025 (Hapag-Lloyd, 29 January 2025).
It is one document in a larger file: the five documents in a charcoal shipment's DG paperwork stack — weathering certificate, MSDS, vanning survey and certificate of origin, each with its own issuer and timing.
The proper shipping name is CARBON, animal or vegetable origin
Our bill of lading gives the full form — UN 1361, CARBON, ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE ORIGIN (coconut shell charcoal), Class 4.2, PG III — as it appears on the bill of lading. Software often truncates it to just "CARBON" on the declaration; carriers grade the full form, so write it out.
The field matrix: every entry, the common error, and its source
Each of the DGD fields maps to one required value, one error that bounces it, and one clause. The clause numbers are restatements from national-authority and carrier sources — the IMDG Code itself is paywalled, not quoted directly.
| Field | Required entry | Common error | Source clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| UN number | UN 1361 | a bare "1361", or the wrong number | IMDG Dangerous Goods List |
| Proper shipping name | CARBON, animal or vegetable origin | "charcoal", or a truncated "CARBON" | Dangerous Goods List, column 2 |
| Class | 4.2 | wrong class, or the subrisk dash dropped | IMDG Dangerous Goods List |
| Packing group | III | blank, or II with no basis | SP 978.3 — PG III without testing |
| Packaging | UN-approved 4G fibreboard boxes | LP02 large packagings — some lines reject them | P002 / SP 978 |
| Date of production | batch production-completion date | missing, or conflated with packing | Amendment 42-24 (IMDG ch. 5.4) |
| Date of packing | date packed into packagings | missing | Amendment 42-24 (IMDG ch. 5.4) |
| Packing-day temperature | material temperature in °C, ≤40 °C | no °C units, a range, or omitted | Amendment 42-24 (ch. 5.4); ≤40 °C is SP 978.5 |
| Certification | the shipper's signed declaration | unsigned, or a signatory who cannot attest packing | IMDG 5.4.1.6 (UK MCA; IMO MSC.1/Circ.1649) |
The classification block, from a real Coco Reina DGD
These rows are transcribed from one of our own declarations — the same CARBON (software truncates the full name), Class 4.2 with subrisk 4.2/-, UN 1361, packing group III and 4G fibreboard boxes. We assign packing group III on the SP 978 default — "at least packing group III" without testing (SP 978.3, via CINS, September 2024) — so no classification test report is held.
The three SP 978 entries: production date, packing date, packing-day temperature
Since 1 January 2026 the transport document must also state the production date, the packing date, and the packing-day temperature in °C (CINS 2024; Britannia P&I and Hapag-Lloyd 2025; CMA CGM). We keep all three in the factory batch log and copy them onto each declaration; the temperature is the material's packing-day reading, ≤40 °C.
Production and packing are not the same date. The gap between them is what the 14-day weathering certificate that carries the same production and packing dates attests; conflate them and the interval stops reconciling.
Is it 5.4.4.2? Where the new entries actually sit in the Code
The additions come from Amendment 42-24, carried on the transport document under the Code's documentation chapter (5.4); the physical conditions are Special Provision 978. The "5.4.4.2" often quoted for charcoal governs cargo information for a UN 1362 shipment under the SP 979 exemption — a different entry, not the UN 1361 additions.
Who signs the DGD — and what the signature commits you to
The declaration carries a signed certification, required at IMDG 5.4.1.6 (restated by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency and IMO circular MSC.1/Circ.1649, 20 May 2022): the signer declares the consignment is accurately described and correctly classified, packed and labelled — the shipper's signature liability for every entry above. We sign in-house, so the signatory can answer for the packing.
The errors that trigger rejections
The matrix carries the error against every field; the proper shipping name is the one a DG desk catches first. Three worth isolating:
- Proper shipping name wrong — "charcoal" or a truncated "CARBON", not CARBON, animal or vegetable origin.
- Classification mismatch — the UN 1361 / Class 4.2 / packing-group set must agree with the coconut-charcoal MSDS and the CAS number its Section 14 must match and the bill of lading.
- Certification unsigned — or signed by someone who cannot attest how the cargo was packed.
The matrix is the field template. For a redacted specimen from a recent shipment, WhatsApp +628213924038.
What the DGD is not
The declaration is one document, not the whole file. The weathering certificate and vanning survey a carrier asks for at booking are carrier templates' overlays — required by the line, not DGD fields and not IMDG Code requirements (Biochar Europe). And a correct declaration never makes charcoal non-dangerous goods — it declares UN 1361, Class 4.2.
This page is general information on charcoal transport documentation, not legal or dangerous-goods advice. Confirm current IMDG and carrier requirements with your carrier or a licensed dangerous-goods specialist before shipping.