A UK accident investigation report into a major container collapse on an Evergreen Line boxship during heavy weather in the Pacific has pointed the finger at poor stowage.
The accident report from the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) will likely attract interest as it is published just as the containership industry is hit by a run of series of similar incidents.
The container collapse happened on the UK-flagged 7,024-teu Ever Smart (built 2005) as the vessel was hit heavy weather sailing 700 miles off the coast of Japan heading for Los Angeles in October 2017.
The ship was managed by Evergreen Marine.
Sea conditions caused the Ever Smart to pitch and roll and the bow to slam which subjected the ship's hull to “whipping forces”.
The container row in the aft most section of the ship, containing 151 containers, toppled to the ship’s port side. As a result 42 containers were lost and a further 34 were damaged.
Accident investigators reported that crew had checked the ship’s stability status and the cargo lashings prior to departure from Taipei.
The MAIB report said the collapse had likely been caused by a “combination of factors.” Investigators found that the ship’s stowage plan did not comply with the vessel’s cargo manual, most importantly, on the issue of weight distribution.
This caused the container stack’s centre of gravity to move upwards and accelerate forces acting on lashings. Investigators have also found that some twist locks in the collapsed container bay were “corroded and should have been discarded”.
MAIB has recommended that Evergreen work to ensure that cargo stowage planners are fully trained in ship loading computers and to introduce a programme of lashing equipment inspections.
According to the World Shipping Council, in 2017 only around 0.0005% of all containers transported were lost at sea.
However, the cost of such incidents, which can include container recovery, closing shipping lanes and pollution prevention, can run into tens of millions of dollars.
The MAIB’s report comes out shortly after a Dutch accident investigation in to a major container loss of 342 containers from the 19,224-teu MSC Zoe (built 2015) also blamed inadequate stowage.
This year there have been serious container losses off the coast of Australia from the 4,250-teu YM Efficiency (built 2009) and the 5,510-teu APL England (built 2001). Most recently last week off South Africa 23 containers were lost from the 9,411-teu MSC Palak (built 2016).
