The International Group of P&I (IGPI) clubs has received a ‘roll risk estimator’ as part of a project investigating the risk of container losses aboard vessels
This indicates the combined speed, heading and wave period that result in unfavourable roll motions that should be avoided. However, the estimator does not indicate the maximum roll motion and at which wave height the vessel is vulnerable to adverse rolling, which must be judged by the master’s experience. In addition, it does not address other dangerous ship behaviour such as large vertical accelerations, shipping green water and slamming.
IGPI is a member of Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands (MARIN), whose joint industry project ‘TopTier’ has been established to examine and assess the causes of container losses arising from at-sea incidents on board various sizes of container ships, with a particular focus on ultra large ships.
As the size of deepsea box ships has increased, the loss of containers and their impact on the marine and coastal environments has caused public and political concerns. Authorities and industry have been urged to evaluate container securing and improve regulations and practices to avoid losing containers at sea.
MARIN’s TopTier project was initiated to address these topics with major stakeholders. A cross section of industry, academic, government interests and MARIN will produce a report of its findings including recommendations in due course.
The recommendations are expected to lead to operational and technical improvements that should mitigate the risk and underlying causes of container losses at sea.The primary objectives of TopTier are identifying and recommending improvements for transport, stowing and securing containers and related matters, and providing the technical understanding needed for safe designs and innovations in the future.
TopTier began in May 2021 and is currently supported by 40 participants including industry giants Maersk, ONE, Evergreen, CMA CGM and class societies ClassNK, DNV, Bureau Veritas among many others.
Phase 1 reviewed current practice and incidents, identified gaps and three reports were submitted for review. This phase was concluded with three early deliverables to alert mariners to the particular phenomena of parametric roll in following seas conditions.
In Phase 2, six working groups will undertake detailed technical research and investigations. Their outputs will be combined into practical safety improvements during Phase 3 of the project.
MARIN said the outcome of the project will be further brought to the attention of authorities such as IMO, ILO and IACS to aim for top-down implementation.
The annexed roll risk estimator can be accessed here.
