Following increases in the issues with loading scrap metal cargo and its carriage, NorthStandard P&I Club has highlighted the need for extra vigilance.
The IMSBC Code states that scrap metal should be kept as dry as possible before loading and not loaded in the rain. The main reason for this is that when scrap metal is wet it will accelerate the oxidisation process. Should the cargo contain swarf, turnings, or other contaminants such as timber or rags, this can lead to fire.
From various recent incidents and reports, NorthStandard attributes the causes of these incidents are due to a combination of factors:
– The cargo is sprayed on loading: Stevedores or longshoremen may spray the cargo on load to reduce dust generation. Continue reading “Loading scrap metal warning issued”
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has issued a Marine Guidance Note (MGN) amending the guidance on the safe carriage of electric vehicles on board passenger ferries. The MGN was released on 7 August 2023.
The Sub-Committee on the Implementation of IMO Instruments (III) 9th session took place 31 July to 04 August 2023 where, among other things, the draft amendments to the Procedures for Port State Control were finalised.
Allianz has highlighted that battery fires on vessels remain one of the biggest safety issues facing the shipping industry. There have been a number of serious fire incidents in recent years where Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have been reported as the source of, or contributing to fires on vessels. Allianz experts Capt. Rahul Khanna, Captain Randy Lund and Captain Anastasios Leonburg, share their thoughts on how electric vessels may impact safety onboard.
Applicable from 28 July 2023, this Marine Guidance Note explains the new legal requirement for cargo ships that are 24m or more in length and less than 500GT to be fitted with bilge water level detectors and alarms. This mandatory requirement has been introduced following several incidents in which ships have become flooded due to an undetected ingress of water occurring in bilge spaces and implements a recommendation of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) following the flooding and sinking of a grab hopper dredger Abigail H. The fitting of bilge alarms in the prescribed manner is intended to improve the safety of affected ships, their crews and the marine environments in which they operate. 
FuelTrust’s new report finds that in the past year, over 600 vessels were disabled through fuel problems, despite the fuel being ‘on-spec’, resulting in estimated global supply chain losses exceeding $5 billion. FuelTrust’s analysis found that between 2021 and 2022, more than 39% of global bunkers exhibited a fuel content delta of 2% or more compared to the amounts stated in their delivery paperwork. The primary issue identified was the introduction of water into the fuels during the journey from onshore storage tanks to the ship’s bunker tank. This problem typically involved an increase from 0.1% to above 0.25% water content, which, although below the regulated threshold, still resulted in average losses of $14,910 per affected delivery, FuelTrust highlights. 
The European Committee for drawing up Standards in the field of Inland Navigation (
Cargo displacement of 1,900 tonnes of partially liquefied soil was, according to the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority’s (NSIA) assessment, the cause why the bulk carrier MS Bjugnfjord sank on its way out of the Kattegat. According to the NSIA investigation, it is in practice difficult to have an overview of the characteristics of different masses in these type of freight assignments.