Ship operators and insurers say mislabeled or poorly packaged dangerous cargo could be to blame for a spate of vessel fires
A fire caused the Grimaldi Grande America to sink earlier this month off the coast of France, taking cargo that included luxury automobiles to the seafloor. Photo: loic bernardin/marine nationale//Shutterstock By Costas Paris March 24, 2019 7:00 a.m. ET
Maersk officials say the string of incidents is likely a coincidence, but it has raised alarms among operators, insurers and shipping customers, and focused more attention on the safe handling of the big quantities of goods that move on increasingly large and packed oceangoing vessels. Ship operators, insurers and regulators increasingly are focusing on the chemicals, batteries and other goods that can trigger or feed a fire.
The undamaged portion of the Maersk Honam was loaded onto a special cargo transporter and ferried to South Korea, where it will be rebuilt. Photo: Maersk Line The potential damage from such incidents has grown as carriers have moved to ever-larger vessels, concentrating more containers on a smaller number of ships.
Another survey of 1,700 vessel stowing plans said 20% of the plans weren’t in line with existing dangerous-goods rules. “The shipper who deliberately doesn’t declare what is in a container won’t change because of more legal requirements,” said company spokesman Nils Haupt.
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