Narrative:

Upon walking into wsss operations; we were asked by station personnel if we would be willing to carry a shipment of lithium ion batteries. The total amount was 1;482 pounds. We were given the shipper's declaration for dangerous goods paperwork. Upon review; the batteries were listed as class 9. Cross checking the identification section; class 9 hazardous materials were listed as forbidden on passenger aircraft with a cross reference to 965 which is information about packing instructions. I then called dispatch and spoke with our dispatcher and gave him the particulars. He took the information and put me on hold a few minutes while he looked up some things and I assume conferred with someone else. He came back and said with a strong no; that these lithium batteries were not allowed on passenger aircraft. He seemed concerned that these shipments may have been going on for some time and may be putting the company at risk. At this point the time was ticking away and we still had to clear customs/immigration/security and get the airplane ready to go for an on time departure. I declined the shipment as the safest course of action. While we were getting the airplane ready our dispatcher had been doing more research. He sent us an ACARS message stating that actually our company has an approval/exception to carry certain lithium ion batteries as long as they meet certain requirements (i.e. Watt hour rating limit and packaging). By this time; the batteries had been removed as per my initial refusal. If we would reload them now; there would have been a delay and frankly I still did not feel very good about taking them. We had no way of verifying that this particular shipment was in compliance. It seems that we were putting a lot of trust in the shipper. There has been so much press on the dangers of overheating and fires from these batteries. Anything new; which I assume these batteries were; would seem to me to be potentially of high watt hour type as this is what everyone wants these days. I believe there has been a relatively recent airplane crash with the primary cause attributed to a shipment of lithium batteries. We also had to watch a training video in which one overheated laptop battery was found very difficult if not impossible to put out once it reached a certain temperature. This is a lot to put on a crew one hour prior to departure operating very early in the morning on the back side of the clock. I believe it would be helpful if more information about these types of shipments could be made available to the crews; maybe through training and a detailed article on our ipads. I am certainly in favor of enhancing revenue for the company at every opportunity; but not at the expense of the safety of the passengers and crew.after some more research; I discovered ICAO doc 9284 which contains specific approved packaging requirements; however the shipper's declaration for dangerous goods document clearly states these batteries are class 9 hazardous materials that are forbidden on passenger aircraft. I feel that carrying these batteries as I was asked to do is a grey area at least and more information is needed by the crew to make a safe decision. Also; what are the check and balances? Are we relying on the shipper possibly licensed in another country; to comply with these complex requirements? Would they not have a conflict of interest to push it or claim they didn't understand them? I have an acars message from dispatch stating that our cargo people say that we can carry an unlimited amount of lithium ion batteries. This message arrived minutes before departure time; so we didn't act on it. However; this seems unreasonable and points out there may be confusion between entities on what is really the correct interpretation of the rules. It's important to mention; that our dispatcher was completely supportive of my decision to reject this shipment. Also; I received no pressure from anyone at the company to accept the shipment. Bottom line; I would just like the issue clarified.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B777 Captain reports refusing a 1;400 pound shipment of Lithium Batteries listed as Class 9 dangerous goods. After the batteries have been removed an ACARS message is received from the Dispatcher indicating that certain Lithium Ion batteries can be carried as long as they meet certain requirements (i.e. watt hour rating limit and packaging); but the batteries are left behind.

Narrative: Upon walking into WSSS Operations; we were asked by Station Personnel if we would be willing to carry a shipment of Lithium Ion batteries. The total amount was 1;482 pounds. We were given the Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods paperwork. Upon review; the batteries were listed as Class 9. Cross checking the Identification section; Class 9 Hazardous materials were listed as Forbidden on Passenger Aircraft with a cross reference to 965 which is information about packing instructions. I then called Dispatch and spoke with our Dispatcher and gave him the particulars. He took the information and put me on hold a few minutes while he looked up some things and I assume conferred with someone else. He came back and said with a strong no; that these Lithium batteries were not allowed on passenger aircraft. He seemed concerned that these shipments may have been going on for some time and may be putting the Company at risk. At this point the time was ticking away and we still had to clear Customs/Immigration/Security and get the airplane ready to go for an on time departure. I declined the shipment as the safest course of action. While we were getting the airplane ready our Dispatcher had been doing more research. He sent us an ACARS message stating that actually our Company has an approval/exception to carry certain Lithium Ion batteries as long as they meet certain requirements (i.e. watt hour rating limit and packaging). By this time; the batteries had been removed as per my initial refusal. If we would reload them now; there would have been a delay and frankly I still did not feel very good about taking them. We had no way of verifying that this particular shipment was in compliance. It seems that we were putting a lot of trust in the shipper. There has been so much press on the dangers of overheating and fires from these batteries. Anything new; which I assume these batteries were; would seem to me to be potentially of high watt hour type as this is what everyone wants these days. I believe there has been a relatively recent airplane crash with the primary cause attributed to a shipment of Lithium batteries. We also had to watch a training video in which one overheated laptop battery was found very difficult if not impossible to put out once it reached a certain temperature. This is a lot to put on a crew one hour prior to departure operating very early in the morning on the back side of the clock. I believe it would be helpful if more information about these types of shipments could be made available to the crews; maybe through training and a detailed article on our iPads. I am certainly in favor of enhancing revenue for the Company at every opportunity; but not at the expense of the safety of the passengers and crew.After some more research; I discovered ICAO Doc 9284 which contains specific approved packaging requirements; however the Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods Document clearly states these batteries are Class 9 Hazardous Materials that are forbidden on passenger aircraft. I feel that carrying these batteries as I was asked to do is a grey area at least and more information is needed by the crew to make a safe decision. Also; what are the check and balances? Are we relying on the shipper possibly licensed in another country; to comply with these complex requirements? Would they not have a conflict of interest to push it or claim they didn't understand them? I have an ACARs message from Dispatch stating that our Cargo people say that we can carry an unlimited amount of Lithium Ion Batteries. This message arrived minutes before departure time; so we didn't act on it. However; this seems unreasonable and points out there may be confusion between entities on what is really the correct interpretation of the rules. It's important to mention; that our Dispatcher was completely supportive of my decision to reject this shipment. Also; I received no pressure from anyone at the Company to accept the shipment. Bottom line; I would just like the issue clarified.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.