Report on container losses at sea
Norwegian specialist marine insurance group Gard has published a study examining container stack losses when ships in this rapidly growing sector encounter bad weather at sea.
Containerised trade is increasing globally with Gard’s P&I portfolio increasing by as much as 16% over the past five years. The growing fleet of ultra-large container ships have capacities of more than 23,000teu, which means that when they encounter problems while on passage the financial implications are magnified accordingly.
The International Salvage Union has highlighted the difficulties its members potentially face responding to container vessel casualties as they increase in both size and number, with fire among the cargo being one area of concern. Another phenomenon is when deck-loaded container stacks collapse during bad weather, leaving containers scattered among the remaining boxes and others lost overboard completely.
Gard’s study shows the impact of progressively increasing wave height and the quantified risk of high waves along with variance in weather exposure among different operators.
The comprehensive study is aiming to set the stage for a deeper dialogue within the industry about mitigating the impact of adverse weather on container safety. Other activities examining the subject include the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands (MARIN) Top Tier project and IMO’s work to make the reporting of lost containers mandatory.
Analysis
Gard studied container stack losses it had been involved in between 2016 and 2021. It combined its claims data with geographical and meteorological data, including wave height and wind strength, on an hourly basis. Data were collected for the incident date as well as the six days leading up to the day of the incident, allowing analysis of how the weather progressively worsened over a period of time.
It could be assumed that the larger the ship the safer the cargo, but “valuable insights” on claims relative to vessel size indicate that the six-year average claims frequency for stack collapses on feeder vessels (less than 3,000teu) is 1% compared to 9% for ultra-large container vessels (exceeding 15,000teu) where stack heights can exceed 10 high on deck.
The impact of progressively increasing wave height is an important aspect of the findings, with average wave heights of 2.5m on day one increasing to 6.5m on day seven, corresponding to gale force winds.
Many of the ships involved were exposed to these conditions for a much longer duration with the “incident zone” for the majority being a 24-hour window on the last day, indicating that the vessels experienced average wave heights that progressively increased by two and a half times during the seven-day period.
One observation was that while vessels involved in incidents spent only 5% of their time in wave heights exceeding 4m during the incident year, half of all incidents occurred during such conditions.
Reflections
It was found that some owners or operators are more exposed to risk of adverse weather than others, likely related to differences in risk tolerance and internally defined weather thresholds. The study ends with reflections and key questions surrounding duration of exposure and weather thresholds.
The thorny question of weather threshold priorities is included in the reflections suggesting “conflicting priorities” between a commercial operator and a vessel’s master regarding voyage routing, noting that routing advice could vary based on whether the principle is a charterer or owner.
The slackening of lashings in heavy weather is considered. Progressive deterioration of lashing efficacy over time is mentioned, noting that while lashing checks are in theory routine, safety concerns result as the weather deteriorates with even greater risk for larger vessels that have more lashings to be checked.
The securing of cargo within containers with movement resultant from adverse weather is examined, whereby cargo breaking loose and shifting within the container adds additional forces on the container stack, remembering the ship’s crew lacks visibility and control over this aspect.
The final reflection asks the question: should safe weather routeing and the avoidance of adverse weather be included as components of internal key performance indicators with modern digital tools making it much easier to assess a vessel’s or fleet’s exposure to weather over a specific timeframe?
This article is shared by courtesy Maritime Journal www.maritimejournal.com
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