Over the course of three months late last year and early this year, almost 3,500 containers were lost in a number of incidents in the Western Pacific. This is far above the numbers usually registered for the same period and has raised concern regarding the causes of these incidents.
The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee meeting will convene online from 5to 14 May 2021 and BIMCO will be attending.
One of the subjects high on the agenda is related to containers lost at sea, owing to the potential danger, not only to ship safety when floating in the water, but also to the environment, particularly with regard to the plastics they contain.
The shipping industry is seeing the biggest spike in lost containers in many years. An average of approximately 1400 containers are lost at sea every year. Unfortunately, since December 2020, four major incidents have occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a region where the busiest traffic and the worst weather collide. The numbers related to these four incidents have caused a spike in the statistics with a total number of around 3,500 lost, according to media reports.
Parametric rolling in relative moderate seas as well as discrepancy between declared weight and actual weight of containers may be contributing factors. However, it appears that no single factor caused the incidents but rather that several factors may have contributed. The incident investigation reports have yet to be finalised, setting out the detailed root causes.
However, at IMO level there is a request to review current regulations and possibly introduce preventative initiatives.
During MSC 103, the IMO will consider measures regarding the detection and mandatory reporting of containers lost at sea that may enhance the positioning, tracking and recovery of such containers.
BIMCO recognizes that a mandatory reporting system is a prerequisite when containers are lost overboard. However, it is equally important to avoid having them lost in the first place. To restore fidelity in the safety of container transport with the present fleet and provide the technical understanding that is needed for safe operation, other areas of interest, like weather routing, the ship's design and its propulsion, as well as the lashing of the containers should be considered too.
BIMCO will follow up on this issue after the meeting.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.
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