As the loss of containers overboard continues to plague the shipping industry, a new loss prevention report from mutual marine insurance organisation the Swedish Club reveals that while just over 4% of the Club’s claims are for containers lost overboard, these account for over 10% of costs.
“Claims caused by containers being lost overboard generate an average claims cost of US$ 135 000, which is more than two and a half times higher than the average cost of claims from other causes,” says Lars A Malm, director, strategic business development & client relations at The Swedish Club.
The report draws on the help of experts to provide an overview of statistics and an insight into specific cases.
“Even a small number of containers lost overboard can pose a serious danger to shipping and the environment,” says Malm.
“One catalyst for such losses is known to be misdeclared cargo,” he adds. “Sadly, the nature of these losses makes it difficult to translate incidents into data, and more importantly, identify the party that caused such damage to the industry.
“A second catalyst we have seen is heavy weather. The excessive forces that are applied to the structure of a vessel in extreme conditions can lay bare errors that have been made when loading the cargo on board,” he adds.
The Club’s statistics show heavy weather to be the major immediate cause of container losses, responsible for half the claims and more than 80% of the costs - despite the widespread availability of sophisticated weather routing systems.
To request a copy of Container focus: Preventing the loss of containers at sea, please visit www.swedishclub.com.
