Loss Prevention Advice
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Its Monthly Safety Scenario for March, describing an incident of cargo shifting during a winter crossing of the North Atlantic.
The incident
A vessel carrying paper rolls from Canada to Europe encountered significant cargo damage during a winter crossing of the North Atlantic. During loading, stevedores left substantial void spaces between the stacks and inconsistently loaded the rolls in terms of height and width.
The Chief Officer raised concerns about the poor loading quality, but the stevedores threatened to halt operations and involve the union if he insisted on changes. Intimidated and concerned about potential delays, the Chief Officer chose not to escalate the issue to the Master or the company, which lacked procedures for resolving such disputes.
Relying on past voyages where similar void spaces were mitigated with air cushions, rubber bags, and use of the anti-heeling system, the crew departed without adequately securing the cargo or reviewing the weather forecast.
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Direct reduced iron (DRI) in various forms is described in the International Maritime Sold Bulk Cargo (IMSBC) Code, (hereinafter, the Code). The latest addition, which becomes a mandatory part of the Code from January 2025, is the entry for the Type D, by-product fines with a moisture content of at least 2%. This entry runs over multiple pages and contains large amounts of important information and guidance. In this Circular, the main points of the Type D entry are summarised, and, where appropriate, additional guidance and observational notes have been added.
It should be noted that this Circular is for guidance only and the relevant entries from the IMSBC Code, which are appended to this Circular, remain the primary source of carriage requirements which should be relied upon.
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On the 16th package of sanctions against Russia adopted by the EU. We noted in the Circular that the package included Article 5ae of Council Regulation 833/2014 introducing a ban to engage in any transaction with ports listed in Part A of Annex XLVII, namely: Ust-Luga, Primorsk, Novorossiysk, Astrakhan and Makhachkala. Paragraph 3 of the Article 5ae provided an exhaustive list of exemptions from this ban. We also noted that the International Group was seeking clarification on whether the transport of certain cargoes, that can still be exported from Russia, e.g. coal, is still permitted as there was no specific exemption for such cargoes.
Full advisory at the following link.
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A loss prevention update regarding the risks associated with moisture levels and shipping delays ahead of Brazil’s soya bean season.
Brazil’s soya bean harvest starts in January and lasts until June. The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects 169 million metric tonnes of soya beans to be produced in Brazil this year. As the world’s largest soya bean producer, Brazil exports a large share to China.