The shipping industry has contributed immensely to global trade in 2016 with estimated value of more than $4 trillion cargoes lifted during the year.
612 containers lost at Sea:
The latest report ‘analysing Containers Lost At Sea’ unveiled at the World Shipping Council has revealed that the international liner shipping industry transported tons of cargoes with the help of 130 million containers globally.
It was also estimated that an average of 612 containers have been lost at Sea due to various incidents, excluding catastrophic events. When catastrophic events are considered the cargo loss raises to a staggering 1,390 during the periods 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The report, also specifies the latest lost represents about 48 per cent reduction from the average total losses of 2,683 estimated in 2014.
Safety aboard Containerships:
The WSC has specified keypoints to maintain safety onboard container ships by taking measures like proper packing, stowage and securing of containers and reporting of correct weight. These information are vital to safeguard its crew and its cargo, to shore-based workers and equipment, and to the environment.
WSC stated, “However, even with proper packing of the cargo into the container, correct container weight declaration, and proper stowage and securing aboard ship, a number of 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”.
Losses sustained due to cargo loss at Sea:
It further conveyed, “This larger number in 2014 is due primarily to two factors: the complete loss in 2013 of the MOL Comfort in the Indian Ocean and all of the 4,293 containers on board – which remains the worst containership loss in history; and, in 2011, the grounding and loss of the M/V Rena off New Zealand, which resulted in a loss overboard of roughly 900 containers. Both of these incidents involved complete and total vessel losses. The most recent 2017 survey gathered input for 2014, 2015 and 2016. …For each of the three years surveyed, the average number of containers lost at sea excluding catastrophic events was 612, which is about 16% less than the average of 733 units lost each year for the previous three year period. When catastrophic losses are included, the total containers lost at sea averaged 1,390 with 56 per cent of those lost being attributed to catastrophic events. This is a 48 per cent reduction from the average annual total losses of 2,683 estimated in 2014. While containers lost overboard represent about one thousandth of 1% of the roughly 130 million container loads shipped each year”.
Initiatives undertaken:
The shipping industry has been a active member in supporting the efforts taken to enhance container safety that should help reduce the number of containers lost at sea, through the Amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention; Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU); Revised ISO standards for container lashing equipment and corner castings among others.
It has been estimated that the at any point in time, there are around 6,000 containerships actively plying on the world’s seas and waterways linking continents and communities through trade. The aim of the container shipping industry is to keep the loss of containers as remains to keep the loss of containers close to zero as possible.
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Source: The Guardian Nigeria Newspaper
