Established less than 70 years ago, the container industry is perceived by many as the modern face of shipping. Yet despite the sector being well regulated and highly regarded, containers are still lost overboard. In this publication we investigate this issue – we share statistics that the Club has carefully compiled over a number of years, provide an insight into specific cases, and with the help of experts, deliver some hands-on advice.
The most common factors associated with loss of containers overboard are misdeclared cargo weight, containers not stowed in accordance with the Cargo Securing Manual (CSM) and sailing through heavy weather.
Unfortunately, many of the issues raised in this publication occur time and time again in claims handled by The Swedish Club.
Weight of containers
Of course, as it is the shipper’s responsibility (as per the SOLAS Container Weight Verification Requirement, 1st July 2016) to declare the container’s verified gross mass before it is loaded on board the vessel, it can be difficult for the shipowner to know the exact weight of every container stowed on their vessel.
However, Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) guidance for the verified gross mass states: ‘If a packed container is weighed at the port terminal facility, that is the gross mass that should be used for ship stow planning’1. In many of the cases that the Club has handled this guidance has, unfortunately, not been complied with.
The Cargo Incident Notification System
Problems with incorrectly declared containers are costly for the shipping industry and have been an ongoing issue for many years. The Swedish Club supports the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS), an important industry initiative which was launched in September 2011. The purpose of the CINS is to increase safety in the supply chain, reduce the number of cargo incidents on board vessels and publicise the risks caused by certain cargoes and/or packing failures.
Continue reading by downloading the complete report below.
This publication has been written with input from SOLIS, Macgregor and SEC Bremen. We would especially like to thank Rosalind Blazejczyk – Managing Partner, Naval Architect from Solis Marine Consultants, Kari Tirkkonen – Senior Naval Architect from Macgregor and Hilko Dunkhorst – Managing Director from SEC Bremen.
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