The German schooner ‘No. 5 Elbe’, built in the 19th century, collided with the Cyprus-flagged 141-meter-long container ship ‘Astrosprinter’ about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Hamburg on 8 June 2019.
A total of 28 passengers and 15 crew were onboard the schooner at the time of the incident.
The vessel managed to reach the Schwinge estuary without assistance, Continue reading “BSU draws attention to watertight integrity after collision”
Four container shipping heavyweights, Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express, have come together to establish the Digital Container Shipping Association on 10 April 2019 in Amsterdam.
The parties said that the aim of the association is to create common information technology standards to make the industry more efficient for both customers and shipping lines.
The plan to create a neutral, non-profit association for ocean carriers was first announced in November 2018. The association, focusing on driving standardization, digitalization and interoperability in container shipping, is now starting operations with a leadership team made up of industry veterans, including Thomas Bagge (pictured) from A.P. Moller – Maersk, who was appointed CEO and Statutory Director of the Digital Container Shipping Association.
Uwe-Peter Schieder, Loss Prevention Manager at GDV (German Insurance Association – Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft) and Vice-Chair of IUMI’s Loss Prevention Committee, provides his comment on securing containers on deck of a container ship.
Mr. Schieder says that there are six different motions in which vessels move in the sea, with the main of them being pitching, heaving and rolling.
However, lateral rolling motion presents the greatest risk for stacks of containers.
In order for containers to be safely transported on the deck of a container ship, this must be done with the help of twistlocks.
These are inserted into the corner castings of the containers, which have elongated holes. There, the rotating lug of the twistlock engages locks the Continue reading “Advice on how to ensure containers are stacked safely”
The recent reports of container ship fires has once more focussed those in the container supply chain on safety issues related to the incorrect processing of dangerous goods. The nascent Cargo Integrity campaign initiated by the international transport and logistics insurer TT Club has, as a consequence, gained renewed impetus.
The recent fire aboard ‘Yantian Express’, details of the final judgment on the ‘MSC Flaminia’ explosion in July 2012, and the ongoing investigation of the ‘Maersk Honan’ fire are currently making headline news. Then just days ago news has come in of ‘Grande America’ sustaining a container fire in the Bay of Biscay and subsequently sinking. These perilous incidents not only frequently cost lives, millions Continue reading “Campaign for greater container safety must focus first on dangerous goods”
Often cargo planners who are preparing the safe passage for a steel coil cargo in the cargo hold of a general dry cargo ship or bulk carrier, do not have the necessary cargo type specific information required to help them decide the permissible cargo load, thus preventing damage to the ship’s structure.
As Jan Rüde, Ship Type Expert MPV, DNV GL explains, according to SOLAS Chapter VI, Reg. 5, every ship must have an approved cargo securing manual.
Nonetheless, the majority of these manuals do not include detailed information about the carriage of steel coils or the only contain only particular types of steel coil. Continue reading “Ensuring safe passage for a steel coil cargo”
Although the industry continuously reminds the industry of the dangers of entering enclosed spaces, this remains the hidden enemy for crews. Between September and November 2018, there were 8 reported fatalities related to enclosed spaces. With this ongoing issue in mind the Shipowners Club has published a sample risk assessment addressing the various hazards associated with entering enclosed spaces.
In a span of just 18 months, the Club alone has experienced 15 related claims due to falls, asphyxiation, explosive burns and six fatalities. These alarming statistics have prompted the Club to produce a sample risk assessment on enclosed space entry as part of its ongoing campaign.
The guidance addresses the various hazards associated with an enclosed space entry operation, enclosed space entry requirements and Continue reading “Shipowners Club warns of the dangers following a spate of enclosed space incidents”
The UK P&I Club and the TT Club have published advice following an incident involving a consignment of aluminium pellets (or dross) that was found at the port of loading with the doors and sides of the container blown out. The terminal arranged to test the samples, as there was no evidence that the unit had been dropped during handling.
The test results indicated that aluminium dross is highly susceptible to a reaction with chlorides when moisture is present. The commodity produces gases when exposed to moisture and the build-up of gasses was considered the most likely cause of the container exploding.
The container was damaged beyond repair and it is understood that some lines and ports are refusing this cargo commodity.
According to the UK Club, at the time the material is tested, before filling the container and subsequent shipping, the moisture level is such that the reaction with the commodity does not generate Continue reading “Beware the dangers of aluminium dross”
The Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS), the International Group of P&I Clubs and the TT Club have published industry guidelines for the carriage of Divinylbenzene (DVB) in containers.
DVB is a chemical prone to polymerization (a form of self-reaction). When shipped in bulk, DVB polymerization can lead heat and flammable gas to be generated. Thus, the stowage of containers carrying DVB aboard vessels can present a risk of explosion and fire, if they are not properly presented for carriage.
As a series of polymerization incidents took place from the carriage of DVB by sea in 2018 the IMO approved changes to the way that polymerizing substances, like DVB, are carried, by amending the IMDG Code. These changes are included in amendment 39-18 of the IMDG Code, which will be mandatory from 1 January 2020, but may be applied voluntarily from 1 January 2019.
To ensure the safe carriage of DVB in containers before 1 January 2020, these guidelines Continue reading “Guidelines for safe carriage of divinylbenzene in containers are published”
A crewman from the Liberian registered general cargo vessel, SMN Explorer, died when he was crushed by a falling hatch cover. The crewman was part of a working party stowing cargo slings used for the discharge of the ship’s cargo. The accident occurred when the crewman climbed up the inside of the open hatch cover after its locking pins had been removed.
The accident was the result of procedural inadequacies and a lapse of supervision. The investigation identified that the vessel’s safety management system was immature and the safety culture on board the vessel was weak. Risk assessments had not been conducted for routine tasks and a safe system of work had not been developed for opening and closing the forecastle (fo’c’s’le) stowage space hatch cover.
– the crewman walked under, and climbed up an unsecured hatch cover;
– the accident occurred because the Continue reading “Crush incident report on SMN Explorer”
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has revoked the Australian Certificate for the Carriage of Livestock (ACCL) for the Panamanian flagged unstable livestock carrier, MV Jawan, because the vessel’s approved stability data cannot be relied upon when the vessel is loaded.
The Jawan was (again) scheduled to depart from Portland on a journey from Australia to Pakistan on Monday after the vessel’s classification society Bureau Veritas, on behalf of the flag state, provided their assessment of the ship’s stability.
However, when moved from berth, the ship demonstrated a motion that suggested the ship lacked stability. The master of the vessel requested the vessel Continue reading “AMSA has revoked its certificate for an unstable livestock carrier”
Hyperloop, Elon Musk’s high-speed-rail startup, has announced a new partnership with Hamburger Hafen und Logistik Aktiengesellschaft (HHLA) to explore ways to move shipping containers to and from inland sites with Hyperloop’s maglev-in-a-tube technology.
Initially, the joint venture plans to build a transfer station for testing purposes at an HHLA terminal in Hamburg and develop a Hyperloop transport capsule for standard shipping containers.
“With the Hyperloop transport system, HHLA is pursuing the goal of developing an additional component of efficient logistic mobility solutions in Germany,” said Angela Titzrath, chairwoman of HHLA’s executive board. “We want to employ innovative approaches to make a contribution towards relieving the strain on the transport infrastructure in and around the Port of Hamburg.” Continue reading “Hyperloop and HHLA are set to trial a new container by tube system”
Four years ago the Canal & River Trust launched a last-ditch attempt to revive commercial freight carrying on the larger waterways before it died out completely. How has it fared since then?
Back in the 1990s, any guide describing the canals and rivers of Yorkshire and the north eastern part of the network would make a point of emphasising how these large-scale waterways were still busy with freight barges loading several hundred tonnes each and helping to satisfy the nation’s transport needs – unlike the small-scale canals of the Midlands and most of the rest of the system, where regular commercial freight had died out a quarter of a century earlier.
Cargoes on the Trent, the Aire & Calder Navigation and the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation included coal, stone, oil, gravel and sand. But one by one these traffics disappeared, not necessarily for Continue reading “What future for freight on the UK canal network?”
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