In a statement covering the release of the report, the WSC noted that in 2021, international liner carriers’ onshore staff and crews managed 6300 ships, successfully delivering vital supplies worth $7 trillion in approximately 241 million containers.
The WSC explains that several factors ranging from severe weather and rough seas to more catastrophic and rare events like ship groundings, structural failures, and collisions can result in containers being lost at sea. The organisation states that winter of 2020-21 saw an unusually high number of weather-related incidents, and the average losses for the two-year period 2020-2021 were 3,113 compared to 779 in the previous period.
Triggered by these events, the WSC and maritime actors across the supply chain initiated the MARIN Top Tier project to enhance container safety. The WSC says the project will run over three years and will use scientific analyses, studies, and desktop as well as real-life measurements and data collection to develop and publish specific, actionable recommendations to reduce the risk of containers lost overboard.
Initial results from the WSC study show that parametric rolling in following seas is especially hazardous for container vessels, a phenomenon that is not well known and can develop unexpectedly with severe consequences. To help in preventing further incidents a Notice to Mariners has been developed, describing how container vessel crew and operational staff can plan, recognize and act to prevent parametric rolling in following seas. Many more topics, tests and measurements will be undertaken by the project, which will continue reporting on progress and sharing insights on a regular basis through the IMO and other forums.
Commenting on the report, John Butler, President & CEO of WSC, said:
“Container vessels are designed to transport containers safely and carriers operate with tight safety procedures, but when we see numbers going the wrong way, we need to make every effort to find out why and further increase safety. The liner shipping industry’s goal remains to keep the loss of containers as close to zero as possible. We will continue to explore and implement measures to make that happen and welcome continued cooperation from governments and other stakeholders to accomplish this goal.”
In addition to the MARIN TopTier project, WSC states that it and member companies have actively contributed to and supported revision of the IMO’s guidelines for the inspection programs for cargo transport units. WSC adds that it supports the creation of a mandatory reporting framework for all containers lost at sea – an issue that will be on IMO’s agenda in September (CCC 8). Moreover, the Containers Lost at Sea Report will now be carried out each year instead of every 3 years.
Photo: New Zealand Defence Force, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
