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1 INTRODUCTION

The total world bulk carrier fleet has continued to

increase over the years with an average age of 14.4

years. Bulk carrier shipping accounts for more than 35

percent of the world seaborne trade (Fig 1). They are

often described as the workhorse of the industry, and

they provide the most efficient means of

transportation of important cargo like coal, iron ore,

grains, and bauxite across the world in bulk quantity.

But despite their importance, they have been

associated with a high risk of accident and casualty

rate, compared to other class of ships in the world

fleet. As at the end of July 2020, the data collected

towards these studies, shows that 34 total losses of

bulk carrier were recorded which were caused by

liquidation and cargo shift, foundering, stranding and

fires/explosions. Several reports and publication of

accident analyses of bulk carrier losses has linked the

increasing risks of bulk carrier failures to their age,

corrosion, hull plate damage caused by crabs and

forklift, cargoes failure and improper loading. The

demand for improved safety of bulk carrier ship

requires a comprehensive safety analysis to enable the

understanding of several factors contributing to such

accident and how to properly mitigate them in the

future. The goal of this study is to give a statistical

analysis of bulk carrier accident occurring from 2011

to 2020 and investigating the safety level of bulk

carrier shipping within this period [1–3, 5].

Figure 1. World fleet by vessel type

Statistical Analysis of Bulk Carrier Accident from 2011

to 2020

T. Nwigwe & M. Kiyokazu

Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT: The high rates of casualties in bulk carrier shipping have attracted a worldwide concern for safety

and regulatory control from numerous governmental and private agencies. Between 2011 and 2020, a total

number of 34 bulk carriers’ ships has been identify as total loos, resulting to the death of 128 seafarers. In this

study, the statistically analysis of bulk carrier accident occurring from 2011 to 2020, in terms of their frequency,

types of accident, locations of incidents and the factors that influence their occurrence has been reviewed. This

study will contribute to decision-making and guidance on rational safety resource allocation that will help

reduce the high casualty rates in bulk carrier.

http://www.transnav.eu

the International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 16

Number 1

March 2022

DOI: 10.12716/1001.16.01.18

154

2 MATERIALS AND METHOD:

This study focused on accidents associated with bulk

carrier ships above 10,000dwt. The total bulk carrier

loose that occurs between 2011 to 2020 were

statistically analyzed in terms of frequency, class of

bulk carrier, and kind of accident. The statistical data

supporting this study were compiled from Published

article by INTERCARGO London, IMO GISIS

database and Lloyd’s list intelligence casualty run on

May 1, 2021. The data included in this study

comprises only bulk carriers above 10,000dwt and

within a shorter period of 10 years, but the decision

was selected for this study because of the availability

of data. Some losses may be unreported as at this

time, especially for the most recent period.

3 ANALYSIS AND DATA PRESENTATION

The data for the annual distribution of bulk carrier

accidents that resulted in total loose from 2011 to 2020

as presented in figure 2 shows that the total-loss bulk

carrier accidents are steadily decreasing. The

information presented can help in assessing the

factors which are more likely to contribute to the

accidents and the results of the analysis have been

grouped accordingly, based on the type of bulk carrier

ship, Losses by incident category, trade route, average

age of bulk carrier vessel, cargo type and Losses by

flag of registration. Figure 2 shows the total bulk

carrier (over 100dwt) identifies as total loss and the

size of bulk carrier ship involve in the accident

between 2011 and 2020. It is evident from this table

that there has been a continuously decline in the

number of vessels lost within this period. During this

period, 34 incidents were recorded, which were

caused by liquidation and cargo shift, foundering,

stranding and fires/explosions and in total resulted to

128 loose of life as seen in Figure 3. The comparison

based on the size of bulk carrier is seen in Figure 4

and it is evident that the handy size class account for

majority of the loses with this period. The

contributing factors has been linked to the root causes

of this incidence, including navigation problem, cargo

failure, poorly maintained equipment, incorrect

operation, age, and human element which was

recorded as the highest among all. The second highest

contributor is found to be cargo failure and

foundering followed by grounding and then collision

and contact. The contributing factors has been linked

to the root causes of this incidence, including

navigation problem, cargo failure, poorly maintained

equipment, incorrect operation, age, and human

element was recorded as the highest among the root

cause of the accident. The second highest contributor

is found to be cargo failure and foundering followed

by grounding and then collision and contact. A great

concern has been raised as to how similar accidents

involving bulk carriers may be prevented or

minimized in the future if a proper understanding of

their contributing factors is known. To direct the

attention towards improving safety and mitigation

plans for preventing bulk carrier accident, the

contributing factors have been investigated and are

summarized below [4].

Figure 2. Bulk carrier (over 100dwt) identifies as total loss

Figure 3. Total losses by incident type

Figure 4. Total loss by bulk carrier size

3.1 Loss by cause of accident

The distribution of accident categories is shown in

Figure 3. The database takes into consideration seven

types of possible causes which include cargo shift and

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liquidation, collision, fire and explosion, flooding,

grounding, structural failure, and unknown causes.,

cargo failure and liquefaction accounts for the highest

loss of life with five casualties resulting in 61 lives

(47.7%) of the total loss of life in the past ten years.

The most common cause of bulk carrier ship losses

has been grounding, with 17 losses (50.0 %) of total

losses four ships have been losses due to flooding

(11.8%) resulting to 4 losses of life. Loss of lives

resulting from four ships lost with unknown causes

accounted for 35 lives, or 27.3% of total lives lost.

3.2 Losses by bulk carrier type

The distribution of accident categories based on the

class of bulk carrier are seen from Fig 5 to Fig 9. The

highest frequency of total losses case is recorded for

the handy size bulk carrier, (10,000-34,999 dwt), as a

total of 11 out of the 34 recorded casualties were

related to the Handy size bulk carriers. This figure

represents 32.4% of the total 34 total losses, with one

loss related to suspected cargo failure (liquefaction)

and the consequential loss of six lives. These vessels

are often operating in short sea shipping routes,

particularly in the Far East Asia and can carry a

multitude of cargos based on their design and

therefore more predisposed to trading in this way.

Also, six Handymax size bulk carrier (35,000-49,999

dwt) was lost, representing 17.6% of the total, with

one loss related to suspected cargo failure and

liquefaction resulting to the consequential loss of 15

lives. Seven Supramax vessels (50,000-59,999 dwt)

were lost, representing 20.6% of the total, with three

losses related to suspected cargo failure (liquefaction)

and the consequential loss of 40 lives. The lowest

number of casualties were recorded in the Panamax

size bulk carrier (60,000-79,999-dwt) range,

representing 11.8% of the total while 17.6% of the total

lost were recorded in the Post Panamax and capsize

size bulk carrier (80,000+ dwt) with four vessels were

lost.

Figure 5. Total loss by type of bulk carrier based on size.

Casualties of 10,000- 34,999 dwt bulk carriers

Figure 6. Total loss by type of bulk carrier based on size.

Casualties of 35,000-49,999 dwt bulk carriers

Figure 7. Total loss by type of bulk carrier based on size.

Causality of 50,000-59,999 dwt Bulk carriers

Figure 8. Total loss by type of bulk carrier based on size.

Casualties of 60,000-79,999 dwt Bulk carriers

Figure 9. Total loss by type of bulk carrier based on size.

Casualties of more than 80,000dwt of bulk carrier

3.3 Losses by registration of flag state

Among the top five flag states include Panama, Hong

Kong, Malta, Cyprus, and China, Panama has steadily

dominated the list of total loss of bulk carrier, most

merchant ships flying Panama's flag belong to foreign

owners wishing to avoid the stricter marine

regulations imposed by their own countries. Panama

operates an open registry, and its flag offers the

advantages of easier registration and the ability to

employ cheaper foreign labor and the foreign owners

pay no income taxes. Several reports indicates that the

higher number of loose in the Panama registry may be

due to the poor standards of regulation enforcement

leading to accidents, and the larger number of older

fleets operating the Panama flag registry with poor

maintenance.

3.4 Loss by average age of vessel

Although, accidents are associated with all age of bulk

carrier vessels and can be due to various causes, but

the investigation of the accidents data in this study

has shown that, most of the total bulk carrier losses

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were above 20 years. It can be seen in Fig 5b, that the

average age of bulk carrier lost between 2011 and 2020

is 20.9 years. The age of vessels has been seen to be

related to other factors like poor maintenance,

corrosion effect and others.

Figure 10. Total loss by age of bulk carrier

Figure 11. Average age of ships lost

3.5 Loss by Cargo Type

The larger bulk carriers, especially those carrying

high-density cargoes of iron, nickel and bauxite were

mainly at risk of catastrophic incidents, involving

Capsize resulting to the lives of 61 seafarers. Fig. 10

shows the percentage causes of all casualties for each

of the main types of cargo. It is also clear that bulker

losses based on cargo type are taking place within

specific trades route, and with similar destinations as

can been seen that 70% of the casualties involving

ships that were carrying cargoes of scrap and iron ore

refer to a foundering. By contrast, this was true for

only about 40% of the bulk carriers which were

carrying steel products, other metals and ores, and

coal, while for the ships carrying other typically less

dense cargoes of grain, chemicals, fertilizers and

ballast the proportions of casualties due to a sinking

were lower again.

4 DISCUSSION

The analysis of bulk carrier accident carried out on a

sample of 34 accidents has shown a clear declining

trend regarding the frequency of accident occurrence

over the last 10 years, although, there has been a

reduction in the last 3 years from 2018 down to 2020,

but more measures still need to be done to prevent

more future occurrence. It is evident to note from the

statistical data that older ships were particularly at

risks when compared to newer ships as can been seen

in fig 5b and the average age of the vessels which sank

between 2011 to 2020 were above 20 years old. Among

the several contributing factors, age of the bulk carrier

is a minor risk factor for accidents as can been seen

from fig 5 that within this study period, the average

age distribution cuts across both new and old ships.

The most frequent cases of loss were because of

grounding which represent 17 cases, out of which 12

cases were caused by human factors. Handy sizes bulk

carrier makes up nearly half (46 per cent) of the

world's bulk carrier fleet and as well as representing

the oldest vessels which are mainly at higher risks

compared to newer bulk carrier. Handy size class bulk

carrier has accounted for majority of total bulk carrier

losses resulting to 32 percent., and ageing vessels have

been most at risk. Also, China, Indonesia, and

Philippines remain the top loss hotspot for bulk

carrier lost, over the past decade, accounting for

closely 80% of all total loss’s cases recorded.

5 CONCLUSIONS

This study presented the statistics analysis of Bulk

carrier accident from 2011 to 2020. A total of 34

incidence resulting to total loses of bulk carriers were

identified within this study period and the causes of

these accident were cargo shift and liquefaction,

collision, structural failure, grounding, and fire

explosion. By comparing the result of the analysis

with the accident records of the previous decade and

considering the results in relation to the increasing

number of bulk carrier ships in the world’s merchant

fleet over the past 10 years, there is an overall decline

in the number of bulk carriers lost and the number of

deaths recorded from 2011 to 2020. Although, there

has been an improvement in safety but despite the

encouraging statistic, bulk carrier accident continues

to occur with high casualty levels compared to other

class of ships. The understanding of the contributing

factors resulting to the likelihood of a bulk carrier

accident will facilitate the development of mitigation

methods and regulations that will reflect the realities

of the bulk carrier shipping industry and additional

regulatory measures in terms of improved design, and

safety practice will help mitigate these accidents

causes. Also, the introduction of the International

Safety Management (ISM) code, the increasing role of

port State control about vessel inspections and

detentions and the importance of corporate social

responsibility (CSR) within most shipping companies

will play a great role in preventing bulk carrier

accident.

AKNOWLEGMENT

The author is grateful to Professor Minami Kiyokazu for his

assistance and support towards this research. Also, I want

to appreciate the contribution of Biola Onyeanusi for her

helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

157

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