All eyes have been on Baltimore recently – the collision between the “Dali” and a bridge has fuelled much discussion regarding shipping accidents. In light of this, experts from the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies in Cuxhaven, the Otto Wulf company, the Bremen Freight Forwarders Association and HDI Global outline their specific views on incidents at sea and their consequences for the maritime environment.
Schmidt is unable to identify any particular loss incidence clusters in the 93 CCME operations he has witnessed since 2003 (see also page 17). “Sometimes it’s ships adrift due to bad weather, others oil spills or fires on board,” he explained. “But in principle, no two situations are the same.” The fire on the “Lisco Gloria” Baltic Sea ferry, north of Fehmarn in October 2009, is the incident that moved him the most. “The captain’s quick decision to evacuate was crucial,” he added. “The circumstances were also on our side, the rescue procedure was sound and the police boats, which rescued the more than 200 people from the lifeboats, were invaluable … it could have turned out much differently, though.”
“By global standards, Germany’s very well positioned in terms of preparedness for a maritime emergency,” he continued, in view of the constant changes resulting from the further development of shipping. “However, we’re constantly working to become even better and to adapt to new hazardous situations.” An essential part of this work is the more than 100 exercises, training sessions and courses that the CCME conducts every year with its partner organisations, both at state and federal level. “Every single one of these partners knows their tools inside out. However, these joint exercises help us to improve our teamwork and manage our resources better.”
Modern technology as an important safety factor
Andreas Wulf, General Manager of maritime service provider Otto Wulf, which has celebrated more than a century in business, is even seeing a reduction in the number of accidents. “Shipping has steadily improved and become safer,” he explained. “Thanks to modern technology and improved propulsion systems, the number of accidents at sea has fallen considerably in recent years – especially in terms of engine failures, fires on board and ship strandings.” We were called out, on average, 25 times in the 1970s. Nowadays, there is a maximum of three accidents per year. Despite all the optimism, he also indicated that accidents can never be completely ruled out and that statistics rarely tell the full story. For example, his company did not have to carry out a single anchor recovery between 2019 and 2021, while there have already been two incidents of this kind this year – on the “Morten Maersk” and the “Tihama”. “The challenge this task presents is increasing in line with the growing size of ships,” Wulf explained. “With a 132 millimetre thick anchor chain, a single one-metre chain link alone can weigh a good 250 kilos. When 180 metres of chain are torn off, it’s anything but a trifling matter.”
Although Otto Wulf began business operations in 1922 salvaging lost anchors, the Cuxhaven-based company has long since expanded its activities to include ship salvage, diving and ship assistance, as well as sea transport and ship escorts. Among the numerous accidents the company has witnessed in more than 100 years, Wulf particularly remembers the fire on the container ship “Ever Level” in 1983 and the coaster “Maritime Lady” that capsized on the Elbe near Brunsbüttel in December 2005. “In both cases, one crucial factor was decisive for salvaging them successfully – good seamanship and the cooperation between all companies involved,” said Wulf.
He also makes reference to the freighter “Fremantle Highway”, which sadly gained notoriety last summer due to a major fire off the Dutch coast. “Besides engine failures and human error, accidents are always down to the type of cargo on board and how it’s stored,” he went on. “In this case, it was probably an electric car battery that caught fire and set everything else in motion. However, as in the past, shipping companies will learn from this and find appropriate solutions to contain this risk too.” Wulf does, however, remain critical of the level of crew training on board. “This has not always kept up with the fast pace of technological advancements in recent years.”
“The number of accidents has remained stable over the decades.”
Dieter Schmidt, long-term Deputy Director of the CCME
“Shipping has steadily improved and become safer.”
Andreas Wulf, General Manager of maritime service provider Otto Wulf
One accident – complex consequences
According to the Bremen Freight Forwarders Association, accidents and disruptions on global trade routes have become more frequent recently. The “Ever Given” accident in the Suez Canal in 2021 had a particularly strong impact, as it blocked the important waterway for six days. “Due to the high demand for goods and the ‘Ever Given’ incident, many ports – including Bremen and Lower Saxony – could no longer cope with the uncoordinated arrivals of the ships,” explained Thorsten Dornia, Chairman of the Bremen Freight Forwarders’ Association. “The result was that we sometimes had ships waiting for weeks on end.”
Events of this kind also pose major challenges for freight forwarders, as they often affect several hundred or even thousands of orders. “The strain on freight forwarders in such situations is immense,” added Dornia. “They have to inform their customers immediately about the disruption and the consequences, provide advice and await new instructions. At the same time, they have to ask for patience and understanding regarding the situation, suggest alternatives, reschedule shipments and, if there’s any doubt, explain to the customers that all the effort and delays might also incur even higher costs.” In his opinion, however, freight forwarders have managed to deal with these frictions surprisingly well so far. “In the 70s and 80s, the attitude was ‘don’t blame the freight forwarder’. Today we might say ‘freight forwarders can handle a crisis’,” he concluded with a smile.
Insurers sceptical of large container ships and car carriers
The disasters of recent years have also left their mark on insurers. Stefan Küster, Senior Underwriter Hull at industrial insurer HDI Global Specialty in Hanover, emphasises that the number of accidents has remained relatively stable over the last few years, confirming this by explaining positive trends. “The number of total losses is currently at a historical low, less than 0.1 per cent,” he said. “And the frequency of partial losses has also fallen steadily since the early 2000s, averaging just under 20 per cent over the last five years – this is based on units with a gross tonnage of over 500.” At the same time, however, he does acknowledge that accidents with exceptionally high losses still do occur. Due to increased repair costs, spare parts and delivery costs, damage costs were also generally significantly higher than in times before the Covid-19 pandemic, regardless of ship type and size.
“Where the car carriers ‘Felicity Ace’ and ‘Fremantle Highway’ in 2022 and 2023 were concerned, cargo insurers were hit harder than hull insurers,” Küster explained with regard to recent accidents. “This was because the cargo damage exceeded the value of the transporting ships many times over. However, the most severe accident for hull insurers and protection and indemnity insurers was probably the ‘Costa Concordia’ cruise ship accident in 2012.” According to information from HDI Global, this case cost hull insurers around half a billion US dollars, while the loss for P&I insurers is said to have been more than 1.5 billion US dollars due to escalating wreck removal costs.
“The lion’s share of all damage occurring annually in the course of marine hull insurance relates to engines,” elaborated Küster. However, this does not just include a ship’s main engines, rather all the engines and mechanical equipment on board – including the shaft and propeller. The next events on the insurers’ ranking of the most frequent claims included collisions, ships running aground as well as fires and explosions on board. In recent years, the HDI expert has registered a significant increase in the latter segment in particular. “You hear or read about a container ship fire every few weeks now,” he remarked. “Unfortunately, the quality of fire-fighting equipment on board has often not kept up with the rate of growth of these units.” The frequent misdeclaration of goods in containers also makes it difficult to find the correct extinguisher in many cases of fire.
“It’ll probably be a while before concrete figures on this incident are available,” stated Küster, reflecting on the events in Baltimore. “According to recent estimates, however, the costs for the clean-up work, compensation claims of those affected, construction of a new bridge and any environmental damage that may still occur are likely to run into billions, meaning the ‘Dali’ accident could even become one of the largest claims ever in cargo transport and marine hull insurance. The lion’s share will have to be borne by P&I, which is tobe understood as downstream and supplementary cover to marine hull insurance.” (bre)
“Freight forwarders can handle a crisis.”
Thorsten Dornia, Chairman of the Bremen Freight Forwarders’ Association
“The lion’s share of damage occurring in the course of marine hull insurance relates to engines.”
Stefan Küster, Senior Underwriter Hull at HDI Global Specialty
An extra rescue ace up their sleeves
Emden-based Northern Helicopter (NHC) has been providing air rescue services for the offshore wind industry in the North and Baltic Seas from locations in Sankt Peter-Ording and Güttin on the island of Rügen since 1991. In future, the station at Norden-Norddeich airfield will provide air rescue services for the expansion of offshore wind energy from Norddeich. NHC also specialises in air ambulance operations and sea pilot transfers as well as operating two helicopters during expeditions on the German research icebreaker “Polarstern”. “We have a total of twelve from Airbus Helicopters in our fleet,” explained Herbert Janssen, Authorised Officer and Head of Partner Management at NHC.
When asked about accidents, Janssen remembers two, in particular. “Last year, the freighter ‘Petra L.’ rammed into the base of an offshore wind turbine at the Godewind wind farm,” he recalled. “However, no rescue services were called out. Our only real deployment to an incident was in October 2023, when the freighters ‘Polesie’ and ‘Verity’ collided south-west of Heligoland, causing the CCME to call us out. We evacuated a patient from there, flying them to a hospital in mainland Lower Saxony.” This example shows that, in addition to its primary function as a partner to the offshore wind industry, NHC also supports other maritime players such as the CCME, the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS), the German navy and the German police when required – it is like having an extra rescue ace up their sleeves, so to speak. (bre)
