What is MARIN, and what is your role at the institute?
The Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) is a nonprofit organisation that aims to support the maritime industry with knowledge and services on technical and physical aspects of ships, offshore structures and maritime operations.
I have worked at MARIN for 30 years following my graduation as a naval architect at the Faculty of Maritime Technology’s Department of Ship Structures at the Delft University of Technology.
During my career, I had to balance the similarities and differences between the actual behaviour of maritime structures and ships with the theoretical models used for their design and operation.
My expertise is wide ranging. From the design of the ships, taking the behaviour of each ship into account, and the sensor and computer systems that capture vessel operations to the mathematical tools that can combine “measured data” relating to ship behaviour and present my findings to the shipowners.
I have supported multiple projects on various topics. However, I have worked on container ships since I first started and continue to work on these regularly. Over my 30-year career, there have been significant tech and operational changes since the days when the vessel size was around 4,000 TEU compared to 24,000 TEU today.
MARIN oversees projects to understand ship behaviour and confirm design concepts. My involvement is to evaluate the relationship between the design approach and a vessel’s actual behaviour at sea. This includes measuring waves, the ship’s motions, composition and, more importantly, taking the crew’s feedback into account.
Between 2006 and 2009, I was responsible for reporting on container ships for the Lashing@Sea project. Afterwards, I supported the Dutch authorities by providing details on the project to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). I initiated the TopTier project as a follow-up to the Lashing@Sea project. The TopTier project aims to assess the findings of Lashing@Sea and to ascertain if the status quo of the past 10 years had changed.
What is the scale of the problem of containers lost overboard?
The scale of the problem depends on the point of view from which someone looks at it. From an industry point of view and considering the overall size of transported cargo, the scale is small and insignificant. Recent records released by the World Shipping Council (WSC) showed that 661 containers were lost in 2022. This amounts to less than one-thousandth of 1% of the 250 million containers shipped annually.
However, from a societal and environmental point of view, the focus is on the absolute number of containers lost. The 661 containers of 2022, which was the lowest number since WSC started counting, still represent eight kilometres (661 x 12 metres) of cargo dumped in the ocean and spilling cargo, hazardous and damaged goods and debris into the ocean. This has massive negative repercussions for the environment.
Incidents often occur in concentrated numbers in particular locations, devastating the local marine environment, and beaches, which local communities rely on. In this case, the scale is devastating.
What is the TopTier project and what are its objectives?
The scale and impact of recent incidents regarding container transport safety have raised industry, national authorities’ and the general public’s concerns. Simultaneously, the key stakeholders’ commitment to improved safety measures has been affected.
TopTier, a joint industry project, is an independent initiative aiming to reduce container loss at sea. At the same time, it aims to restore confidence in the container transport operations to be more sustainable in the future.
The project’s work is supported, co-operated and co-founded by 40 participants. These include national authorities, major shipping lines, classification societies, lashing gear manufacturers, systems providers, shipyards and knowledge centres. The objective is to dramatically reduce container loss by improving practices, addressing “weaknesses” in the safety framework and updating overarching regulations and procedures such that recommendations are implemented in day-to-day operations.
The project has three stages. Stage one provides an overview of existing practice, typical incidents, and the gaps that lead to incidents. Stage two is aimed at technical investigation of the highlighted gaps and evaluating possible solutions. The final stage combines the overall findings and recommendations for improvements to the existing regulatory framework. These will subsequently be submitted to the relevant authorities such as the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) and IMO.
The challenge is dealing with the various economic drivers and responsibilities spread across different stakeholders worldwide. The stakeholders unanimously support and agree that improvements are needed. However, it is difficult to determine how and who should be implementing these safety measures. The need, urgency and specifics of proposed changes must be substantiated with facts regarding procedures and technical reviews.
TopTier evaluates the strength of containers and lashing gear, how information flows, services and responsibilities along the planning and loading of the vessel and the design motions for which the cargo stow is planned. It further analyses the forces that develop in a given stow under such motions, and the requirements for information, tools and computer software used in planning, loading and decision support on board.
How will the findings of the TopTier project be put to use, even before regulatory changes may be affected?
The participants in TopTier aim for a ‘zero loss of containers’ model. This can only be achieved if vessels outside the TopTier group have no container losses either. Important findings are demonstrated in the project and distributed to mariners to make them aware of the content. One example of this is an awareness notice and videos with regular updates to IMO.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing in the shipping industry, what would it be?
Many incidents are caused because rules and guidelines are not followed, either because it is not noticed or due to operational pressures. If there is no feedback and control in place to flag these, the crew will find it difficult to take the necessary action.
Safety at sea will improve when crew members responsible for safety use the control and feedback options by logging data correctly. A wave of a magic wand would see a dashboard where recorded data is broken down to ensure that planning, loading and voyage preparation are done correctly at the transit stage. The information should enable better decision-making in operation, and also allow for offline audits which will provide an incentive to comply with the agreed guidelines and conditions.
What do you like doing when not working?
I like walks in nature. I live near a forest in The Netherlands and enjoy the fresh air and the forest’s tranquil aroma. I have loved water activities from a young age, and I like to go sailing on my high-performance catamaran or any other yacht, and I am part of a rowing club. I also enjoy cycling with my family along the river and whenever possible staring across the waves and ocean.
To find out more about TopTier visit www.marin.nl/en/jips/toptier.
