The 'female Sherlock Holmes' of maritime goods inspection
Chen Wei (right) and her colleague verify the name list of goods.
Do you know that ping pong balls are dangerous goods?
"The main material in such balls is celluloid – plastic and flammable matter," said Chen Wei, deputy director of the Pudong Maritime Safety Administration in Shanghai. "There are also many inconspicuous things, such as nail polish and perfume, and air bullets in nail guns used in decoration. They all contain flammable and explosive substances."
A port located in Waigaoqiao in the Pudong New Area carries an annual throughput of almost 16 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), and the 41-year-old women has devoted nearly 20 years to "keeping sailing safe and oceans clean."
One of the main jobs for Chen and her colleagues is to find dangerous goods that owners did not declare inside entering and exiting containers.
"If they declare dangerous goods, it means more complicated procedures, longer transporting time and higher costs," Chen said. "The containers are all sealed. We can't open each of them and check, because if no dangerous goods are found when opened, it will cause unnecessary losses to the owner. However, if we don't check and an accident occurs during shipping, immeasurable loss might ensue."
For ordinary people, the process of finding the "problem box" is undoubtedly like finding a needle in a haystack. For her, however, it is more of an art.
"Someone joked that I was opening 'blind boxes,'" she said.
Every time she opens a container for inspection, she carries a small green case with various tools, such as lighters, protective clothing, gas masks, rubber gloves, test tubes, funnels, glass rods and ear-washing balls.
The case was dubbed by her colleagues as "Chen Wei's treasure case."
Chen Wei, 41, has devoted nearly 20 years to "keeping sailing safe and oceans clean."
How to lock down the concealed "problem boxes?" Only relying on limited manpower to investigate them one by one makes it completely a mission impossible.
For Chen, the most difficult is unpacking the first suspected container. She locked down the "target box" on April 29, 2005.
"I clearly remember that it was the goods of a listed company. At that time, the product name they declared was only one letter away from a dangerous chemical name. I hesitated," she recalled. "I was not sure. If it's not dangerous goods, it would really cause losses to the goods' owner and delay the departure time. But if it is dangerous goods and explodes or catches fire during the voyage, not just the container but the entire ship might be affected."
She finally decided to open the container for inspection.
The result met her expectation.
"If I didn't insist at the time, the result would have been totally different," she said. "I was really under a lot of pressure, but fortunately I did it."
In the past 19 years, Chen and her team have seized 1,750 false records of dangerous goods in 1,077 cases – a hit rate that exceeds 80 percent.
She was called a female "Sherlock Holmes" in danger-tracing work.
At the beginning, Chen's team determined whether there were dangerous goods in containers by checking the name list provided by owners. They then established a cooperation mechanism with dock workers and customs staff, and provided them with dangerous goods identification training.
Over time, Chen invented a series of methods named after her. Later, she promoted these methods to other marine bureaus in Shanghai.
She is always fully alert for dangerous goods.
"A lot of goods are reported according to their respective categories, not as dangerous goods, such as e-bikes. Although the wheels and other parts are not dangerous, the lithium battery that powers the bike is flammable and explosive," she said.
Furthermore, Chen's team applies advanced techniques and developed a big data system for pre-inspections, as well as a visualized safety guarantee system, which help upgrade port safety and improve industry integrity standards.
For declarations of dangerous goods, Shanghai port has maintained an average annual growth rate of about 18 percent.
In the eyes of her colleagues, Chen is a serious person who strives for perfection.
"She does not let go of any clues that may lead to dangerous goods," said Tao Ji, one of her team members.
Over the years, she has never stopped questioning, because she firmly believes the "small box means big responsibility."
On April 29, the inspection method she created was written into the newly revised China's Maritime Traffic Safety Law as a regulatory measure.
Chen Wei (left) checks the parameters on the package of an e-bike in a target container.
Chen Wei (right) and her colleague discover a lithium battery inside an e-bike.
