The below quotes and insight are in response to the collision between the container ship Solong and tanker Stena Immaculate off the coast of the UK shortly before 09.48am this morning (10 March).
Xeneta analysis on maritime safety
Peter Sand, Xeneta Chief Analyst:
“We must hope crew on both ships are rescued and have not suffered injury. This is a very busy shipping lane but this type of incident should never happen and is another stark reminder of the catastrophic consequences of a failure in maritime safety.
“Comparisons will be made to previous maritime disasters, such as the collapse of Baltimore Bridge last year after it was struck by a container ship, but we should be careful not to speculate on the cause of this latest incident until an investigation is completed.
“Billions of dollars of containerized cargo is moved across highly complex ocean supply chains every day, so the fact incidents such as this are rare suggests there are generally high levels of safety in maritime transport. Unfortunately, when there is a failure, the consequences are extremely serious for the crew, vessel, cargo and environment.
“It is vitally important that the industry works together to learn lessons from this incident once the cause is fully investigated and understood.”
Xeneta analysis on impact of incident on ocean supply chains:
Peter Sand, Xeneta Chief Analyst:
“The Solong is a 804 TEU (20ft equivalent container) ship, which is extremely small by container shipping standards. The ship was operating a service between Grangemouth, Scotland and Rotterdam, Netherlands.
“Unlike the Baltimore Bridge incident last year, this collision occurred further out at sea so it is unlikely to have a significant impact on nearby port operations or shipping networks unless the efforts to deal with the oil spill impact ships sailing through the area.
“While the Solong is a small vessel compared to most container ships, it could still be carrying cargo worth millions of dollars that is danger of being lost along with the vessel itself.”
Source: Xeneta
