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Wednesday, August 10, 2011 Survey: Up to 675 containers lost at sea each year An industry survey disputes other reports of several thousand shipping containers that are lost at sea each year, revising that average down to well under 1,000. Citing factors that contribute to containers going overboard that can include lack of proper cargo loading and stowage to severe weather, rough seas and more catastrophic, rare events like ship grounding or collision, the World Shipping Council says it took up the challenge that the National Cargo Bureau expressed in a statement, that "there have been no comprehensive statistics kept, as to the number of containers lost overboard." The WSC said it circulated a survey of its members to obtain what it claims was "a more accurate estimate of the number of containers lost overboard on an annual basis." The WSC says its members represent over 90 percent of global containership capacity, with the actual respondents accounting for over 70 percent, and using those results to come up with how the remaining 30 percent of container-shipping companies might have responded. The estimated total carrier response as reported by the WSC included the following: Some carriers reported that they lost no containers during the period Other carriers reported a rare catastrophic loss, which for the purposes of the analysis was defined as a loss overboard of 50 or more containers in a single incident. Based on the survey results, the WSC estimates that on average there are approximately 350 containers lost at sea each year, not counting catastrophic events. Counting the catastrophic losses, the survey came up with an average total loss per year of approximately 675 containers. The total industry losses would vary from year to year, however the WSC says those numbers are well below the 2,000 to 10,000 per year that the carrier group says appear publicly, and represent a small fraction of container loads shipped each year. Outside of factors such as severe weather and catastrophic events, the WSC said industry measures to cut down on containers lost at sea include a public-private project called Lashing@Sea3, led by the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands (MARIN), and the publication Safe Transport of Containers by Sea: Industry Guidance for Shippers and Container Stuffers by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the World Shipping Council (WSC), which reportedly includes best practices for ships, port facilities, and shippers in the loading and handling of cargo containers. More Newswire stories Report: "Intelligent" transport sector valued at $48 bil; projected to grow through 2015 Union Pacific begins construction on $400 mil inland port rail facility in New Mexico INTTRA launches automated invoice comparison and dispute system for ocean freight Federal-level CIOs to get more power	Click to browse past stories on these topics: Logistics Ports & Infrastructure Economic Outlook Environmental Impact Technology
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Survey: Up to 675 containers lost at sea each year