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Technical risks with newer large container vessels, says Cefor

By Insurance Marine News, 20th March 2017 | Print version

The Nordic Association of Marine Insurers (Cefor) Technical Forum has listed some of the technical risk elements of ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) in a new memo. It said that the aim of the memo was “to raise awareness and discussion on some of the possible problems associated with increasingly larger container vessels — seen from an insurer’s perspective”.

At present, 69 ULCVs with capacity of more than 14,501 TEU are in service. If all known new builds are included, there are 148 such vessels.

Cefor Technical Forum said that it had identified a number of technical risk elements that were of particular concern from an insurer’s perspective and that should have more focus when ULVCs are being designed and brought into service. These risk elements were in addition to other commercial challenges, such as upgrade of port facilities improvement in fairway infrastructure, etc.

“Our concern is further accentuated by industrial rumours talking about 24,000 TEU vessels, although such vessels have, as far as we know, not yet been ordered. We acknowledge that discussions are ongoing on how to deal with the different challenges these huge vessels and their cargoes of thousands of containers present, but are left with an impression that more concentrated efforts to address the identified challenges are set at play”, the committee said.

It warned that its impression was that many of the solutions under consideration were “rooted in vessels and ship designs of the past”.

The committee emphasized that they were “not in any way Luddites”, but said that the development of these huge vessels demanded a concerted effort from all parties that have a stake in the transportation of container by sea.

“If not properly addressed, we might be facing a situation with a major incident that could have an unprecedented impact on the environment and infrastructure, not to mention damage to society and insurers”, the Cefor committee warned.

Cefor said that the purpose of the paper was to raise awareness and discussion on some of the possible problems associated with increasingly larger container vessels – seen from an insurer’s perspective. The committee said that there were probably many answers to the challenges, “and we encourage that these discussions get more focus as development continues”.  

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