HIGHER NITEC IN MARITIME BUSINESS

SHIPPING AND PORT OPERATIONS

NAME SHYAKIRAH UMMI NADHILAH

CLASS BH2004U ( 36 )
NRIC T03XXX43H

TABLE OF CONTENT
1.Introduction
2.Background
3.Objective
4.Identification and Analysis of Issues or
Problems
5.Recommendations
6.Conclusions
7. References

Introduction
More incidents of containers falling into the ocean has increased in the past year
either due to human error or unstable weather. Millions of money has been lost trying
to scavage the ocean for lost containers and wasted time on voyage.

Background
Containers falling into the ocean costed companies millions worth of revenue lost.
The costs to cover one container would cost thousands of dollars to pay for recovery
and compensation for sea pollution. Companies should find long-terms solution to
avoid more incidents.

Objective
The objective of this report is to analyse this issue and find the root causes of why
containers keep falling into the ocean.

Identification and Analysis of Issues or Problems

I. Pressure From Companies Causes Dangerous Voyages

Covid-19 caused the shipping market to become unbalanced and shortage of

manpower are unable to keep up with the high demand of shipping. This causes
companies to lose millions in revenue thus the crew and captains feel pressured to
fasten their voyages so they can be able to do more voyages. Such pressure can
cause captains to make decisions at sea that can risk the safety of the people
onboard and enter dangerous situations such as unstable weather that can cause
incidents and loss of life.

II. Poor Monitoring of Cargo

Another issue would be the poor monitoring of cargo operations. Reasons for this is :

a) Shortage of Manpower

Shortage of manpower lead to time constrained stevedores failing to lash containers

securely to the ships. This would cause the containers to be vulnerable to unstable
weather that can cause the containers to fall into the ocean.

b) Misinformation of Cargo Declaration

Shippers must provide accurate and detailed information of the cargo to the stowage
planner. Inaccurate details will cause poor stowage planning that can cause
imbalance in container stacking. If heavy containers are stacked at the top, the risk
of the container falling off the ship would be high. The container can possibly fall to
the inside of the ship and cause damage to other containers if the container is lighter
than the undeclared heavy container on top.

III. Increase in shipping cost

Shipping rates has increased in the past year because of the covid-19 virus thus
companies are trying to cut down costs. Covid-19 caused a shortage of manpower
such as dockworkers and ship crew that cannot keep up with the high demand of
shipping. Vessel delays and congestion causes companies to lose millions of their
revenue resulting in companies pressuring crew to risk their safety to fully maximise
their voyages. Higher shipping costs also causes shippers to not follow regulations of
dangerous cargo to avoid paying more.

Recommendations
 I. Prioritising Safety First

Due to increased competition between companies, it caused immense pressure on

crew and captains to make decisions that prioritise cargo over their lives. Companies
should put in efforts to reduce this pressure on them and prioritise the well-being of
their employees. Companies should initiate a campaign that advocates for safety
first.

The campaign should include educating captains or crew that everyone on a ship all
have someone that is waiting for them to come home be it their children or parents.
This would lead to better decision makings during voyage that prioritises the crew’s
safety.

II. Strengthen Cargo Declaration and Lashing Policies

Ports should be more stringent in these policies to enforce shippers and stevedores
to follow regulations. Shippers who send wrong information on their cargo should be
fined and the amount should increase each time they make a mistake. This will lead
to shippers taking the extra precaution to ensure all information are accurate when
declaring their cargo to avoid extra charges. Containers should be checked again
before being loaded on the ship. Stevedores should be able to maintain lashing
equipment and follow strictly to the rules and regulations when lashing a container.
This should

III. Improve Voyage Planning

Shipping companies should plan ahead to predict the weather plan voyages
according to it. For example, container ships carrying nearly up to full capacity
should be shipped in calmer weather to reduce risk of the containers falling over.
Improving the efficiency of voyages will allow companies to save costs.
Conclusions

To summarise, containers falling into the ocean is caused mainly caused by the
pressure of high demand in shipping caused by covid-19. The demand caused the
shortage of manpower resulting in poor quality of operations. It resulted in pressuring
captains to make wrong decisions that prioritises cargo over lives. Thus companies
should deal with the shortage of manpower without jeopardising the well-being of
employees.

759 WORDS
 References

Nermina Kulovic, N. K. (2021, June 8). Sembcorp Marine continues to face labour
shortages due to Covid-19. Offshore Energy.
https://www.offshore-energy.biz/sembcorp-marine-continues-to-face-labour-
shortages-due-to-covid-19/

Automated container terminals are taking off. (n.d.). Abb. Retrieved July 14, 2021, from
https://new.abb.com/marine/generations/technology/automated-container-terminals-
are-taking-off