Swedish Club identifies the most common accidents onboard via ship type

An interesting report out this week from the Swedish Club identifies the most common accidents onboard via ship type. The P&I club has studied thousands of incidents in the last ten years, across a range of vessel segments and claims types.

Seafarers on containerships need to watch their step, as almost 60% of all slips and falls occur on container vessels – almost certainly due to the amount of debris on board and the number of people involved in cargo operations, the club noted.

Meanwhile, those working on bulk carriers must take care to avoid cargo damage, with bulk carriers recording both the highest average cargo claims cost and also the most frequent claims over the last ten years. A failure to check cargo properly before loading and improper cargo handling are the cause of the most expensive and most common claims respectively, emphasising how important it is for crews to monitor entire cargo operations to secure as much evidence as possible about damaged cargo.

With the various vetting processes in place, it is no surprise that tanker claims make up the smallest proportion of cargo claims seen by the club. But those onboard cannot rest on their laurels with around 60% of claims and the same proportion of costs incurred by improper cargo handling and insufficient cleaning.

The report also highlighted both an increase in claim costs and a rise in the number of claims for the most common P&I claims: cargo, illness and injury, over the last ten years. Worryingly, the club has seen a rise in the number of claims for all vessel types.

Bulk carriers top the charts, with the greatest increase in the number of claims. This trend is also being seen in the container sector, with both the cost per claim and the number of claims rising. The frequency and cost for tankers is the lowest of the three types.