Between 2016 and 2025, 17 bulk carriers of more than 10,000 deadweight tonnes were reported lost, with the tragic loss of 71 seafarers’ lives, according to an INTERCARGO annual report.
And cargo liquefaction remains the greatest contributor to loss of life with 37 lives – 52.1% of the total loss of life in the past ten years.
INTERCARGO’s annual Bulk Carrier Casualty Report examines the safety performance of bulk carriers over a rolling 10-year period in order to identify risks and improve safety for seafarers and vessel operations.
The newest edition also revealed that four flooding casualties (23.5% of the total) cost 34 lives – a significant 47.9% of the total number of lives lost
Groundings also remain the greatest cause of ship losses, with seven losses or 41.1% of the total.
Cargo liquefaction
Cargo liquefaction has been the greatest contributor to loss of life, as shown by the 12 reported liquefaction cases since 2009:
- 2 casualties involving iron ore fines from India, with the loss of one life
- 8 casualties involving nickel ore from Indonesia, with the loss of 119 lives
- 1 casualty involving bauxite from Malaysia, with the loss of 18 lives
- 1 casualty in 2026, involving nickel ore from the Philippines, with the loss of six lives
Improving safety
Within the report, the INTERCARGO Secretariat shared the ways in which stakeholders should collaborate to improve bulk carrier safety.
The IMO International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code was developed to improve safe transport of dry bulk cargoes. INTERCARGO and its members have been making efforts to raise safety awareness among all stakeholders including local authorities, shippers and terminals, to jointly strengthen both the technical provisions and the practical implementation of the IMSBC Code.
Learning from incidents, the industry has continued to raise concerns in order to achieve more frequent and responsive updating of cargo schedules to reflect emerging commodities and changing cargo characteristics, as well as clearer, more prescriptive requirements on moisture testing, sampling procedures, and declaration of cargo properties by shippers.
Equally important is improving compliance through stronger enforcement by flag and port States, targeted inspections of high-risk cargoes, and mandatory training for ship and shore personnel involved in cargo handling.
Greater transparency, data sharing, and feedback from casualty investigations should also be used to continuously refine the Code, ensuring that lessons learned from bulk carrier incidents are translated into practical risk-reduction measures across the industry.
Reducing grounding incidents of bulk carriers requires a combination of improved navigational practices, enhanced voyage planning, and effective operational oversight. The effective use of navigational aids such as ECDIS and timely navigational warnings, can significantly improve situational awareness on the bridge. Equally important are well-trained bridge teams, strong bridge resource management, and clear procedures for monitoring the vessel’s position and progress, especially during port approaches and coastal navigation. In addition, proactive involvement by shore management, including passage plan reviews and lessons learned from previous incidents, can help ensure that navigational risks are identified and controlled before they lead to grounding accidents.
INTERCARGO believes that improved safety is to be largely attributed to constant learning, better crew training, improved ship design, new technology and stronger regulatory compliance. It is essential that all stakeholders work together in order to improve bulk carrier safety and ultimately to strive for zero loss of seafarers’ lives and zero loss of dry bulk ships every year.
Download the report: INTERCARGO Bulk Carrier Casualty Report 2026