Charcoal UN 1361 and IMDG Special Provision 978
IMDG Amendment 42-24 special provision 978 sets charcoal UN 1361 conditions: no self-heating test exemption, weathering, packing temperature and DGD dates.
Special provision 978 of the IMDG Code governs charcoal shipped as UN 1361 CARBON, animal or vegetable origin, a Division 4.2 self-heating substance of packing group II or III. Amendment 42-24, adopted by resolution MSC.556(108) and mandatory from 1 January 2026, removed the use of the self-heating test N.4 as a route to exempt charcoal from the Code, and assigns untested material at least packing group III.
The provision requires the charcoal to be weathered for 14 days, or steamed, cooled and inerted, before packing; to be packed at 40 °C or less; and to leave 30 cm of headspace in the cargo transport unit. Under 5.4.1.5.18 the transport document states the production date, packing date and packing temperature. Activated carbon is a separate entry, UN 1362, under special provision 979.
The full article will cover the container fires that led to the change, the shipper’s weathering records, and the bulk route under the charcoal IMSBC schedule .