Page 12 - Annual Review 2018/2019

ANNUAL REVIEW

INDUSTRY TOPICS
Safe carriage of cargoes & investigation of incidents

Cargo failure and liquefaction continue to INTERCARGO’s Bulk Carrier Casualty
be a major concern for dry bulk shipping. Annual Report provides an analysis of
Nine (9) casualties with the associated reported bulk carrier losses during the

loss of 101 seafarers’ lives between 2009 most recent ten-year period. In the period
and 2018 are believed to be the result 2009 to 2018, 188 lives were lost and
of cargo-related failures. Although there 48 bulk carriers over 10,000 dwt were
was no reported loss of life or vessel identified as total losses. Although there

attributed to liquefaction in 2018 and in was no reported loss of a bulk carrier
2019 by the time of writing this report, since 2018 and the ten-year trends in
INTERCARGO has urged all stakeholders annual average numbers of lives and dry
to remain vigilant as cargo liquefaction cargo ships lost show definite signs of

continues to pose a major threat to the safety improvement, there is no room for
life of seafarers. complacency.

While ship operators need to be especially cautious when Lessons learnt from past incidents play an essential role in
loading cargoes (prone to liquefaction) during the wet determining the scope of additional safety improvements.
season, as seasonally experienced in certain parts of South 23 investigation reports on the last ten years’ 48 losses
East Asia, it is paramount that shippers and local authorities were still not submitted to IMO by their Flag States, as
fulfil their obligations as required by the IMSBC Code. per information on the IMO GISIS database at the end of
January 2019.
INTERCARGO urges the exercise of extreme caution when
loading Nickel Ore and other challenging cargoes and The recent publication of the Stellar Daisy Casualty
stresses the importance of adhering to the provisions in the Investigation Report by the Marshall Islands Maritime
International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC) to Administrator (on 19 April 2019) had been eagerly anticipated
maximise safety in the transportation of dry bulk cargoes. by the industry and INTERCARGO had repeatedly urged for
INTERCARGO welcomed its latest amendment IMSBC its timely submission to IMO, as over 2 years had passed
04-17, which entered into force on 1st January 2019 and since the tragic sinking of M.V. STELLAR DAISY in the South
included important updates related to cargoes that may Atlantic on 31 March 2017 with the loss of 22 lives (and only
liquefy. Pertinent updates include: changes to section 4.5 2 survivors).
of the Code, which stipulates the shippers’ responsibility
to ensure that the testing and sampling for Transportable INTERCARGO welcomed the publication of the above
Moisture Limit (TML) and moisture content is carried out report, reiterating the importance of the Flag States’ timely
at the correct intervals; changes to the individual coal submission of casualty investigation reports to IMO, as a
schedule which strengthen and clarify the designation of means for identifying the cause of incidents and enabling
coal as Group A and B cargo; and the inclusion of a new preventive actions to be taken. INTERCARGO is carefully
test procedure for determining the TML of coal. studying the report to contribute to this direction and urges all
relevant administrations that have not done so to investigate
incidents and publish the reports in a timely manner.

 For more information on this topic please visit: intercargo.org/topics/cargoes-liquefaction/