New Protocols for Tracking Containers Lost at Sea Proposed

In a response to the dramatic increase in the loss of containers at sea in the past year, the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization discussed the issue at its recent meeting.

They agreed that the loss of containers at sea was a potential danger to maritime safety and an environmental threat and took initial steps, focusing on detecting and reporting lost containers. Furthermore, the IMO said that it would also work on finding solutions that would prevent the loss of containers.

During the discussion, the committee expressed a range of concerns about the loss of over 3,500 containers over the past few months in the Pacific Ocean. The industry trade association BIMCO reported that the IMO had agreed that there were different causes that might lead to the loss of containers at sea.

The cause may be bad weather or tall waves, making the ship unstable. Furthermore, insurance houses and cargo claim representatives will also be looking at the loading practices and equipment and design of the vessels. Also, cargo associations cite the dangers of undeclared and overloaded containers.

Due to all this, the MSC agreed, according to BIMCO, to launch new measures of detecting and reporting containers lost at sea, which may improve the positioning, tracking, and recovery of such containers.

The IMO also agreed to establish a compulsory system of declaring the loss of containers and setting up means on board to easily identify the exact number of losses.

The ships are obliged to report the loss of containers through a standardized procedure. As many details need to be reported as possible: identification, cargo carried (particularly dangerous goods or harmful substances), or whether these containers may float and constitute a risk of collision with ships and boats.

International Maritime Organization

BIMCO

MSC IMO

containers

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loss of containers