A recent run of container loss claims by the London P&I Club has highlighted some of the common contributory factors that emerge as part of the investigation process. The Club noted that the subject of misdeclared container weights continues to be a problem. But with this particular run of claims it was the attending surveyor’s observations about cargo securing equipment that caught the eye.
In these cases, it became clear that several manual twist locks were not correctly locked at the time of the incident. The causes for this were considered to be two-fold – some twist locks were damaged (specifically with locking levers either bent or missing), or the units in service were a mixture of right and left-hand locking units, leading to confusion over the observed status of the twist lock.
Upon investigation, a number of container corner castings and container foundations showed no signs of having a locked twist lock forcibly removed during the collapse, the natural conclusion being Continue reading “London P&I Club reveals key causes of recent container loss claims”
