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TT Club intensifies efforts to prevent container losses

Understanding the circumstances that lead to stack collapses and losses overboard is crucial in mitigating these risks.

TT applauds the World Shipping Council’s initiative to publish the annual container loss survey details and acknowledges the record-low losses reported in 2023. Notably, around 33% of initially lost containers are subsequently recovered.

However, TT’s own analysis of historical incidents highlights that weather remains the most significant factor influencing these events. The data also reveal that the challenge is far more complex, involving a broad range of interconnected operations.

“In this context, TT has been involved from conception with the MARIN TopTier Joint Industry Project,” emphasised Storrs-Fox, TT’s Peregrine.

“This ongoing project has drawn together over forty industry and governmental stakeholders in identifying and resolving the circumstances that lead to such incidents. It has already delivered important guidance relating to mitigating parametric roll risks and the Club will continue to be involved in the debates, particularly at the IMO, following the finalisation of the research.”

While the primary focus is often on ship operations, TT has long recognized that all participants in the freight supply chain share responsibility.

From the moment a transport order is placed, ensuring the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) accuracy is critical, as is the correct load distribution and securing of cargo within containers.

As a result, TT’s cargo integrity campaign continues to be a central part of its efforts, working closely with partners in the Cargo Integrity Group.

At the ship-port interface, the Terminal Operating System (TOS) plays a crucial role in supporting proper stowage on board, in conjunction with stow planning software. These systems must prioritize placing heavier containers lower in deck stacks.

Storrs-Fox notes, “TopTier studies have identified discrepancies of up to 20% between planned and actual stowage on board. If this is representative of all operations, it is deeply concerning.”

Regarding environmental factors, TT’s analysis identified commonalities across several incidents, with wave height being an obvious factor, but wave length and period appearing to be even more significant. Wave period, in particular, has been linked to resonant phenomena such as parametric roll and synchronous rolling, which can lead to stack collapses and losses overboard.

Through its Innovation in Safety award, TT has also sought to promote emerging technological solutions. Two complementary digital and engineering solutions, both developed by Trendsetter Vulcan Offshore (TVO), apply well-established systems from the offshore industry.

These solutions aim to enhance monitoring capabilities by predicting and detecting parametric roll and fundamentally reimagining lashing systems, thereby reducing container motion and controlling the dynamics of container stacks.

Conventional wisdom suggests avoiding heavy storms whenever possible to minimize the risk of container loss. However, rerouting away from the Red Sea this year has exposed many voyages to extreme weather off southern Africa.

Nevertheless, the deployment of innovative technology can help build greater safety margins, including leveraging data capture to improve understanding and predictions of changing sea conditions.

“Ships will never be able to avoid the impact of heavy seas entirely,” concludes Storrs-Fox.  “Consequently TT, in furtherance of its mission to make the global logistics industry safer, more secure and more sustainable, continues with its efforts on this issue and urges industry colleagues to do likewise.”





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