Vanning Surveys & Container Photos: The Evidence Layer Carriers Now Expect
By Mohamad Sinno, Charcoal Expert · Last updated
A vanning survey is the check of how one container was stuffed, made by someone other than the shipper; its photographs are the evidence for claims once it sails.
What a vanning survey is — and why it isn't a container inspection
A vanning survey is an independent survey of the stuffing (vanning) of one container — the loading operation, not a test of the charcoal — producing a surveyor report issued after the inspection. For UN 1361 charcoal, carriers have been requiring one around IMDG Amendment 42-24, mandatory from 1 January 2026 (Britannia P&I, December 2025), which classes it 4.2.
It is not a container inspection. MSC.1/Circ.1649 (IMO, 20 May 2022) is the state cargo-transport-unit programme — documentation, placarding, securing; the vanning survey is an independent surveyor's check of the stuffing, and CINS says it "differs from a container inspection process" (September 2024). Neither replaces the other, nor is either a pre-shipment inspection. It sits in a set — how the charcoal DG documents fit together maps the dangerous goods declaration, weathering certificate and certificate of origin around it.
The shot list and report contents
The report names the booking and container number, is dated, signed and stamped by the surveyor after the physical inspection, and carries the photograph set. What a carrier grades is whose rule each item is.
Whose rule is it: the Code, industry guidance, or one carrier's booking policy
Not every item on Maersk's Indonesia charcoal vanning form (v15, last modified April 2026) is the IMDG Code; some is industry guidance, some that carrier's booking policy. Sorting them matters: a quieter carrier's silence does not make a Code item optional.
| Requirement | Whose rule | Where stated | If absent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packing per P002 and the CTU packing guide; OVERPACK label (5.1.2) | IMDG Code | Carrier form, citing IMDG 42-24 | Packing fails DG review |
| Independent-party survey; weathering report available and credible | Industry charcoal guidance | CINS, Sept 2024 (§4.1, §4.3) | Credibility check missing |
| Vacuum-packed thermal jacket; cargo ≤ ambient +5 °C | One carrier's booking policy | "As per Maersk Policy" | Binds that carrier only |
| Vanning survey among required documents | A second carrier's requirement | CMA CGM charcoal flyer, 2025 | Booking documents incomplete |
One caution the form omits: its "ambient +5 °C" is that carrier's test, not SP 978's regulatory 40 °C packing-day ceiling (CMA CGM, 2025). Our temperature at packing, checked every stuffing day, measures 20–30 °C — the figures behind the weathering certificate the surveyor checks is credible.
What the report must carry — and what a buyer can verify
Five checks an importer can run:
- Dated, signed and stamped by the surveyor.
- Names the booking and container number.
- Photographs watermarked with date, time, place and geolocation.
- The surveyor identifiable against the container.
- The surveying party is not the shipper — CINS's "independent party".
That last check is what "independent" excludes — and the limit of the record: no public Indonesian surveyor-accreditation instrument turned up, so we describe none. Those numbers and the packing temperature are the fields the dangerous goods declaration the survey data feeds must state. Coco Reina supplies the vanning survey and weathering records on request.
What a vanning survey does not cover
A vanning survey never grades the charcoal and never replaces the state container inspection: grade, ash and burn time aren't its subject — dunnage and securing are.
Survey timing follows: it must witness the stuffing, not the sealed box — the form's before- and after-sealing photos fix the sequence. No headspace or seal-number shot appears in that form or in CINS; agree extras in advance. Fresh charcoal self-heats — that is why this evidence layer exists.
How survey evidence wins disputes
The photograph set is a task list until something goes wrong at sea — then each shot is a claims asset.
What each photograph proves after the container sails
| Photograph | What it proves later |
|---|---|
| Surveyor with ID against the container number, same booking | Binds the report to that box |
| All four sides' placards, UN number and Class legible | Answers a misdeclaration allegation |
| Straight-on door-shut photo, whole container visible | Fixes the loaded state at closing |
| Every shot watermarked: date, time, place, geolocation | Fixes when and where it was taken |
| One shot of the cargo without outer packing | Shows what was actually loaded |
Do you really need an independent surveyor, or will your own photos do?
The carrier's form requires the report to be issued by "an official and independent Marine Surveyor after a physical" inspection. Worded that way, your own stuffing photos do not satisfy it — they feed the declaration and support the surveyor, but never replace it.
No published per-container fee could be found, and misdeclaration "shall remain his responsibility". An inspection company's own list sorts that cost by where it is caught: re-stuffing after gate-in at the load port; salvage, fines, port charges, re-placarding and container rent at transshipment or discharge; delays and fines under a Port State Control campaign (RC Inspection, fetched July 2026).
Our survey record is available on request — WhatsApp +628213924038.
Questions buyers ask
Can a vanning survey report be reused for another shipment?
No. It is tied to one booking and container number; each stuffing needs its own survey and photos.
Does passing the vanning survey guarantee the carrier accepts the booking?
No. It evidences one container's stuffing — CMA CGM's 2025 flyer lists the DGD and weathering certificate as required too.
This page is general information on charcoal transport documentation, not legal or dangerous-goods advice. Confirm current IMDG, CINS and carrier requirements with your carrier or a licensed dangerous-goods specialist before shipping.