Insurer issues warnings of cargo losses off South Africa

Cargo stowage failures on the rise off South Africa

Many ships are avoiding the Red Sea by sailing around South Africa exposing them to unforgiving seas around the Cape. With several incidents of cargo stowage failure and container losses in the region recently Gard suggests that the trend is likely to continue.

According to statements issued by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) more than 200 containers have been lost overboard from several vessels in recent months. The most recent incident occurred at the beginning of the month when the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) vessel, the MV MSC Taranto lost five empty containers in the region of Mossel Bay.

During August and September containers from three vessels were lost in a similar location. The contents of these containers included pharmaceuticals which began washing up along the country’s coastline.

Cargo that falls overboard can also endanger other vessels at sea and there is inevitably an environmental impact from cargo that sinks or ends up washing ashore as debris. Gard has seen clean-up costs in several cases running into many millions of dollars and particularly if plastic nurdles are involved.

Gard’s Are Solum and Mark Russell warn that the trend has implications for crew who are working on deck to secure lashings in severe weather conditions and cite an incident resulting in the death of two crewmembers in 2023 off the Cape.

Stowage failures can lead to more than cargo damage - they can lead to structural damage, fires and may also cause the ship to list, compromising stability and potentially disabling the ship.

Just this month, a Maersk vessel reportedly had to battle a lithium-iron battery fire off Richard’s Bay when a container at the bottom of a stack containing batteries caught alight.

The World Shipping Council (WSC) recently published its 2024 update on containers lost at sea, and it brought welcome news: out of the 250 million containers transported in 2023, only 221 were lost at sea, according to their survey.

Solum and Russell contend, however, that this positive trend seems unlikely to continue given the increased losses around South Africa.

“With the ‘new normal’ of more ships sailing around the Cape to avoid the Red Sea, there will likely be an uptick in the numbers of containers lost at sea, both in 2024 and possibly for some time to come,” they warn recommending that stringent checks are done of lashings when conditions are safe to do so.

From January 2026, mandatory reporting of containers lost at sea is expected to apply. This amendment to the SOLAS convention will make it mandatory for Masters to report loss of containers to the nearest coastal state and to the vessel’s flag state administration. This is a significate step forward, and hopefully, it can lead to more accurate numbers on containers lost at sea, as the data will be based on regulated reporting as opposed to surveys and estimates.

“If a stow failure does occur it may also be unsafe to send the crew into cargo areas to try and re-secure it until safer conditions permit.”

Gard has also warned of other risks associated with sailing in heavy weather including engine failures caused by low engine lubrication oil pressure.