1 Introduction

Condensation damage is a collective term for damage to cargo in a CTU from internal humidity especially in freight containers on long voyages. This damage may materialize in form of corrosion, mildew, rot, fermentation, breakdown of cardboard packaging, leakage, staining, chemical reaction including self-heating, gassing and auto-ignition. The source of this humidity is generally the cargo itself and to some extent timber bracings, pallets, porous packaging and moisture introduced by packing the CTU during rain or snow or packing in an atmospheric condition of high humidity and high temperature. It is therefore of utmost importance to control the moisture content of cargo to be packed and of any dunnage used, taking into consideration the foreseeable climatic impacts of the intended transport.