Bulker death toll in 2012 still 'unacceptably high': Intercargo

While the number of ship casualties fell in 2012, seafarer deaths (such as falling and asphyxiation in enclosed spaces) still presented a “cause of great concern” to Intercargo’s members.

Rob Lomas, Intercargo secretary general, pointed out that “even though no loss of life was recorded in the three ship casualties during 2012, the number of other serious incidents involving bulk carriers remains unacceptably high with 12 seafarers killed during the year.

“This highlights the continued importance for flag states to conduct proper casualty investigations – the subject of an Intercargo paper to IMO, which together with the formation of an Intercargo casualty correspondence group, establishes a platform for further dialogue on safety issues”.

Other findings in the Benchmarking Bulk Carriers 2012-13 report included an improvement in the standards of vessels in detainment, with fewer deficiencies. The findings are consistent with the drop of the average fleet age, to 9 years. The report also noted  a “tailing-off” in fleet growth over the last year.