Reviewing the results of the fourteen-year period (2008- 2021) surveyed, the WSC estimates that there were on average a total of 1,629 containers lost at sea each year, which is a significant increase (18%) to the average annual loss for the twelve-year period ending in 2019.
It can be helpful to also compare the current results to the trend of three-year averages that were reported in each of the previous updates. In the first period (2008- 2010), total losses averaged 675 per year and then quadrupled to an average of 2,683 per year in the next period (2011- 2013). This was due in large part to the sinking of the MOL Comfort (2013) that resulted in a loss of 4,293 containers and further impacted by the grounding and loss of M/V Rena (2011) resulting in approximately 900 containers lost.
The next period (2014-2016) was marked by another vessel sinking with the tragic total loss of the SS El Faro (2015) with 33 crew members and 517 containers. Even with that, the three-year average annual loss for the period was 1,390, about half that of the previous period. The downward trend continued into 2017-2019 when the 3-year average annual loss was almost halved again to 779. There were also no individual losses as significant as those noted in the previous periods. This was a positive trend that seems to have reversed with the latest update.
The average losses for the two-year period 2020-2021 have increased to 3,113 from the 779 of the previous period. A significant loss occurred in 2020 when the ONE Opus lost more than 1,800 containers in severe weather. The Maersk Essen also experienced severe weather in 2021 that resulted in the loss of some 750 containers. Such large losses in a single incident have not been reported since the 2014-2016 period.
Container Safety – an Ongoing Daily Task
From a liner shipping industry perspective, every container overboard is one too many, and everyday carriers work with the other parties in the supply chain to enhance safety.
The responsibility for container safety is shared across the supply chain:
• When dispatching the empty container, the container operator is responsible for ensuring that the container is clean, free from visible pest contamination, and is fit for purpose and complies with applicable requirements.
• •
Every party that handles the container along the supply chain is responsible for checking that it is in good and clean condition, and for handling it so it remains so.
Specifically, the shipper, packer and freight forwarder are responsible for the container being packed, braced and stowed safely in accordance with the CTU Code², that the contents shipped are safe and free from visible pest contamination, and that the gross mass of the packed container is verified and together with the contents are correctly declared to the carrier in accordance with applicable timelines.
2 | IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo TransportUnits available at
https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Safety/Pages/CTU-Code.aspx
• The port terminal and stevedores are responsible for the proper handling of the container and that it is stowed properly based on its verified gross mass (VGM), content, and destination in accordance with the ship’s Cargo Securing Manual (CSM) as approved by the flag state and the IMDG Code.
• The vessel operator is responsible, in cooperation with the terminal and any vessel-sharing partners, for making a safe stowage plan based on the information received, monitoring the stowage, and securing the containers safely in line with the CSM and that, where required, containers are segregated.
The Report • September 2022 • Issue 101 | 101
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