Circular issued by International Group clubs Members will be aware of the general concerns that exist with regard to the carriage of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) by sea. These concerns have increased significantly since the loss of life arising from the carriage of DRI on board the Ythan (2004) and the deliberate sinking by the French Authorities of the Adamandas (2003) with her cargo and bunkers on board. The explosion and accompanying tragic loss of life on the Ythan resulted from the interaction between the vessel’s cargo of “HBI Fines” and the fresh water (moisture) contained in the cargo at the time of loading.  At the time of the incident the IMO Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargo (the Code) categorized two types of DRI, namely hot moulded briquettes or hot briquetted iron (subsequently re-designated as DRI (A)), and pellets, lumps etc. (subsequently re-designated as DRI (B)). The DRI/HBI fines cargo could not in reality be categorized as either (A) or (B) under the Code and the expert advice was to treat it as the more dangerous and reactive type of DRI (B). Following the above mentioned incidents and their subsequent investigation, the IMO Sub-committee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) considered amendments to the relevant Schedules of the Code as part of a review of the Code. The Marshall Islands, Intercargo and the IG proposed that DRI Fines should be individually classified and designated DRI (C) and both DRI (B) and (C) should be carried under an inert (nitrogen) atmosphere with a maximum allowable moisture content of 0.3% in respect of DRI (C).  It was recommended by the DSC at its 12th session held in September 2008 that these (and other minor) amendments be adopted by the IMO through the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC). The MSC adopted the recommendations in November 2008 and the Code was renamed the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargo Code (IMSBC Code). The main changes to the Code in relation to the