Press Release: Major shipping carriers unite to improve safety of cargo

• Safetytech Accelerator launches collaborative technology acceleration initiative with Evergreen Line, HMM, Lloyd’s Register, Maersk, the Offen Group, ONE and Seaspan as Anchor Partners aiming at reducing cargo fires and losses overboard
• A significant proportion of the world’s container cargo involved in new open-innovation initiative

Some of the world’s biggest maritime cargo carriers are joining forces with the world’s first industrial safety technology accelerator to launch a new innovation initiative to reduce cargo loss at sea.

Evergreen Line, HMM, Maersk, the Offen Group, ONE (Ocean Network Express), Seaspan as well as Lloyd’s Register are joining forces with Safetytech Accelerator to find and advance technology innovations from across maritime and other industrial sectors to reduce the incidence and impact of cargo fires or cargo loss overboard.

The scale and breadth of the challenges facing operators is growing and continues to evolve. These include, through the increasing carriage of lithium-ion batteries either in containers or within electric vehicles on car-carriers and the increasing growth in complexity and size of modern container vessels. Fire and cargo loss at sea not only has an immediate impact on the safety of those onboard but also creates the potential for significant environmental damage.

The Safetytech Accelerator Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative (CFLII)  is a collaborative technology  acceleration program  that will help tackle the issue  through shaping joint requirements, identifying  technology solutions, undertaking carefully designed trials  and developing best practices and recommendations.

The Initiative has a broad scope encompassing three significant topics of concern. The first relates to onboard cargo control, including whether cargo has been properly, loaded, secured and monitored during transit. The second area covers the ability to detect fire onboard and stop its spread through effective onboard response, particularly on large container ships and car-carriers. The third relates to the challenges created by the increasing scale of vessels.

Global Containerships Segment Director at Lloyd’s Register (LR), and Chair of the Maritime Cargo Fire and Loss Initiative, Nick Gross said, “We’re excited to start this initiative, working alongside the Anchor Partners to trial and adopt innovative technology for the prevention of cargo fires onboard, thus helping to make container shipping a safer operation. From LR side, the objective of the initiative resonates with our mandate to improve the safety of ships and crew, as well as protect the marine ecosystem. We believe it is vital to work together to tackle the increasing risk of cargo fires onboard container ships.”

The President of Evergreen Line, Eric Hsieh, said, “We are committed to talent training to help provide a safe, high quality working environment for our seaman. By participating in an enterprise such as the Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative we aim to work closely with all stakeholders to guard the safety of container shipping transportation.”

The Chief Maritime Officer of HMM, Kim Gyou-bong, said, “I am pleased to join this collaborative initiative with major industrial partners, expecting to develop advanced technology for significantly reducing the risk of safety-related accidents. HMM will give top priority to providing more reliable and differentiated shipping services by securing the safety of our ships and transported cargo.”

The Head of Marine Standards & DPA of Maersk, Aslak Ross, said, “The safety of our people is always of highest importance. Reducing the risk of cargo fires is accordingly a key priority for Maersk and the industry at large. The main root cause for cargo fires on container ships is the integrity of dangerous goods throughout the supply chain. Therefore it is a problem that can only be improved through industry wide solutions and for that reason we are a strong believer in sharing of learnings across the industry to improve safety. The Safetytech Accelerator Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative is a good platform to bring stakeholders together to find new effective solutions to the problem of cargo fires.”

The Managing Director of ONE, Hiroki Tsujii, said, “Given the rapid changes in both the shipping industry as well as the nature of cargo shipped, though ONE’s record of cargo fires are minimal, we are careful to not be complacent and continuously seek ways to improve our capabilities. Hence, we see the value of efforts such as this Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative (CFLII) which enables collaboration across industry stakeholders and provides the opportunity to share, learn and improve.”

The Director, Marine Standards and Designated Person Ashore at Seaspan, Alfred Gomez said, “Safety is at the very core of our culture at Seaspan. We are pleased to partner with our fellow industry leaders on an innovative initiative aimed at continuous improvement and solving for existing and emerging challenges within our dynamic industry.”

The Managing Director of Safetytech Accelerator, Maurizio Pilu, said, “Safeytech Accelerator’s mission is to help solve some of the most complex safety, risk and resilience challenges in industry through open innovation and collaboration. Eliminating cargo fire and loss is a big challenge in the maritime industry and while accidents are thankfully infrequent, their impact can be extremely large. Together with the Anchor Partners we hope this new collaborative technology acceleration initiative will help industry make significant progress towards that goal.”

Shipping companies who would like to know more about the Initiative, and technology companies with experience or interest in addressing the topics of concern indicated above, are invited to contact us for further information, using the form below.

Listen to the webinar recording here, and read more about the initiative here.

News – COSCO SHIPPING Lines joins the initiative.

>>>> Ends

About Safetytech Accelerator

Safetytech Accelerator is a non-profit established by Lloyd’s Register. It is the first fully dedicated technology accelerator focused on safety and risk in industrial sectors, with a mission to make the world safer and more sustainable through wider adoption of technology.

About Lloyd’s Register

Trusted maritime advisors, partnering with clients to drive performance across the ocean economy.

Lloyd’s Register (LR) is a global professional services group specialising in marine engineering and technology. We were created more than 260 years ago as the world’s first marine classification society, to improve and set standards for the safety of ships.

Today, we are a leading provider of classification and compliance services to the marine and offshore industries, helping our clients design, construct and operate their assets to accepted levels of safety and environmental compliance.

We also provide advice, support and solutions on fleet performance and operation, voyage optimisation, enhancing our clients’ digital capability. Our digital solutions are relied upon by more than 20,000 vessels.

In the race to zero emissions, our research, technical expertise and industry-firsts are supporting a safe, sustainable maritime energy transition.

Lloyd’s Register Group is wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a politically and financially independent global charity that promotes safety and education.

For more information, go to www.lr.org

About Evergreen Line

Established in 1968, Evergreen Line is a global container carrier based in Taiwan. The line currently operates a fleet of over 200 container ships with a combined capacity of around 1.6 million TEU, providing marine transportation services in more than one hundred countries around the world.

Evergreen has always been at the forefront of developing a safe, secure and sustainable global transportation system. These aims are in line with Evergreen’s founding business philosophy of sustaining society and the environment, safeguarding our employees and our customers’ goods, and through these consistent guarantees creating profit for our stakeholders.

About HMM

HMM is South Korea’s national flagship carrier headquartered in Seoul with more than 45 years of experience within the shipping industry. As one of the world’s leading container shipping companies, HMM operates worldwide transportation services with a global fleet of over 100 state-of-the-art vessels. HMM strategically collaborates with customers to develop customized supply chain solutions for dry, refrigerated, and other specialized cargo.

About A.P. Moller – Maersk

A.P. Moller – Maersk is an integrated logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. As a global leader in logistics services, the company operates in more than 130 countries and employs over 110,000 people world-wide. Maersk is aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2040 across the entire business with new technologies, new vessels, and green fuels.

The Offen Group

The OFFEN GROUP has a long and proud history stretching from its foundation by Claus-Peter Offen in 1971 to the current day where it still the biggest German container tonnage provider, offering Ship Management, Commercial Management and Crewing.

Its Ship Management company CPO Containerschiffreederei has made a strong commitment to sustainability, energy efficiency and safety – demonstrating that it is one of the industry’s most reliable quality full service providers.

Traditionally it has cooperated closely with classification societies or the maritime industry to invent new standards such as e.g. “Route Specific Container Stowage” or the so-called “Anti Roll Assist” to recognize and avoid the risk of parametric and synchronous resonant rolling.

Also their firefighting equipment evaluations, training and related refit program has gathered interest throughout the industry.

About ONE

ONE (Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd.) is a major global container shipping company offering an extensive liner network service portfolio covering over 100 countries internationally. ONE emerged from the legacy of three Japanese liner companies, with the new company’s global headquarters in Singapore, to further enhance its intended strong international trading presence. With a global fleet of over 250 vessels, active participation in all major global trade lanes, deployment of the latest IT systems and an extensive terminal ownership portfolio. ONE positions itself as being “large enough to survive, but still small enough to care”.

About Seaspan Corporation

Seaspan Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of containerships.  Seaspan charters vessels primarily pursuant to long-term, fixed-rate time charters to some of the world’s largest container shipping liners. Seaspan’s operating fleet consists of 137 vessels; with 58 additional vessels under construction, increasing the total fleet capacity to approximately 2 million TEU on a fully delivered basis. For more information visit seaspancorp.com.

For more information, contact;

Karen Verhoog / Head of Marketing / Safetytech Accelerator / karen.verhoog@lr.org

Nicola Good, External Communications Director / Lloyd’s Register / +44 (0) 7855 113 273 /  nicola.good@lr.org