INTERCARGO Casualty Report Highlights Safety Improvement
Annual casualty figures from INTERCARGO, the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners, highlight continuing improvement in the safety performance of the sector.
The Association’s Bulk Carrier Casualty Report records the yearly loss of vessels and lives across the dry bulk sector, with the intention of monitoring the impact of safety measures in the sector across the globe.
The bulk carrier fleet has grown significantly in recent years to cater for the world’s growing economy. Between 2014 and 2023 the number of vessels over 10,000dwt increased by 20% to 12,200, with today’s bulk fleet representing more than 40% of world tonnage and carrying an estimated 55% of the global transport work.
Despite the fleet growth, encouraging statistics show that the loss of vessels continues to fall. In 2023 there was one loss of a dry bulk vessel and no loss of lives, up from two total losses for each of the three preceding years and 12 lives lost in 2022.
The Yong Xing 56 suffered massive water ingress from a hull breach by ice on February 23, 2023, while at anchor in the Tatar Strait south of Vanino Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, carrying a cargo of alumina. The vessel sank on March 1 after the breach wasn’t sealed, and pumping water out of flooded compartments failed. All crew members were safely evacuated from the ship.
The reduction of incidents over the past decade can be attributed to continual safety improvements implemented by ship operators in tandem with enhanced legislation within the sector. A significant contributing factor to the safety performance of bulk carriers is the development and implementation of an improved international regulatory framework. The adoption of new technology to improve ship design is also a major causal factor.
Areas of concern remain including cargo liquefaction or other moisture related cargo failure mechanisms, which pose the greatest risk to life, contributing to the loss of 55 lives or 61.8% of the total loss of life over the past 10 years.
Groundings remain the biggest cause of ship losses.
INTERCARGO Chairman Dimitris Fafalios commented: “Bulk carrier safety must never be overlooked. We have come a long way since the ‘dark days’ of the 1980s, when we experienced many tragic losses of lives and vessels. Since then, safety performance of the sector has steadily improved, thanks in large part to concerted efforts by INTERCARGO with other industry stakeholders. These latest statistics reveal an impressive achievement, especially when considering the significant rise in the number of bulk carriers during this period.
“There is, however, definitely no room for complacency. Any loss of life is tragic, and the shipping industry must pay close attention to the contributing causes analyzed in this report. INTERCARGO believes the dry bulk sector should be proud of its achievement and recognize that improved safety is largely thanks to continuous crew and shore-staff training, improved ship design, new technology and stronger regulatory compliance,” Fafalios said.