- New Global Safety Measures and Mandatory Reporting Set for 2026.
- WSC Launching Cargo Safety Program in 2025 to Prevent Dangerous Goods Incidents.
- Industry Commits to Transparency Despite Rising Challenges.
The World Shipping Council (WSC) has just put out its annual report on Containers Lost at Sea, and it shows that 576 containers went overboard in 2024. While this is a jump from the record-low of 221 in 2023, it’s still significantly lower than the 10-year average of 1,274, which highlights the ongoing strides being made in safety, reports World Shipping Council.
Losses Linked to Cape of Good Hope Route
This uptick in losses is mainly due to disruptions in the Red Sea, which forced many vessels to take a detour around the Cape of Good Hope—a notoriously tricky area for shipping. In fact, the number of ships passing through this region surged by 191%, and the South African Maritime Safety Authority noted that about 200 containers were lost there alone. Even with this increase, losing containers is still quite rare: only 0.0002% of the 250 million containers shipped worldwide in 2024 ended up lost.
“This year’s report confirms that the vast majority of containers are transported safely across the oceans. Still, even one container lost is one too many,” said Joe Kramek, President & CEO of the World Shipping Council. “Despite continued loss-prevention efforts by the industry, the re-routing of transits away from the Red Sea and around the Cape of Good Hope to keep global commerce moving has ocean carriers navigating one of the world’s most challenging routes, as highlighted in this report.”
Safety Efforts and Future Measures
The report highlights the industry’s ongoing commitment to improving container handling, stowage, and securing practices. Here are some of the new safety initiatives on the horizon:
- Starting in 2026, there will be mandatory reporting to the IMO through amendments to SOLAS.
- A report from the Top Tier Joint Industry Project is set to be submitted to the IMO in September.
- In 2025, the WSC Cargo Safety Program will launch, aimed at identifying misdeclared dangerous goods.
- New regulations for charcoal shipments will come into effect in 2026, although many carriers are expected to adopt them as early as 2025.
Transparency and Industry Participation
This report is informed by contributions from WSC members, who represent around 90% of the global container vessel capacity. The WSC plans to keep publishing this report for transparency, even after mandatory reporting kicks in in 2026.
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Source: World Shipping Council
