In the 2016 total of 85 great ships has happened the loss, with a decrease of the -16% regarding the year precedence



In 2016 all over the world total of 85 great ships has happened the loss, with a decrease of the -50% in the last decade and of the -16% regarding the 101 losses recorded in 2015. It reports the fifth edition of "Safety & Shipping Review 2017" of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty IF (AGCS), the center of competence of the insurance group Allianz for the assurance of the corporate transactions "large" and "specialty".

The relationship, that it examines the marine losses for advanced boats to 100 tons of tonnage, indicates that last year to general level total of marine incidents is dropped slightly also the number: in 2016 2,611 are denounced some totally, included the losses totals, with a bending of the -4% regarding the year precedence.

Beyond a quarter of the losses totals happened in 2016 (23) marine areas have happened in Southern China, Indo-china, Indonesia and Filippine, - the relationship finds - that for a decade they have turned out to be the main critical zone. The losses have remained stable, but they continue to being pairs almost the double quantity regarding the Mediterranean oriental and to the zone of Black Sea (12), area that is placed to according to place. The losses instead are increased in Japan and northern China, coast oriental African, southern Atlantic and coast oriental of South America, the Canadian Arctic and Alaska.

The ships cargo (30) represent beyond a third party of all the losses of ships happened in 2016. The losses in the fleeting ferries slightly are increased (8) because of the activity in the Mediterranean and the Asian south-east. The relationship observes that the standards remain a problem in some areas of Asia, where the bad time, the insufficient maintenance, a limited application of the norms and the excessive boarding of passengers contributes to happening of incidents.

The cause more common than losses totals is the shipwreck (sinking), that it represents beyond the half (the 46) of all losses of 2016, often due to the bad time: a data - the AGCS publication emphasizes - however down regarding the 65 of 2015. Between the other causes they follow the "groundings" with 15 losses (in light decrease) and "fire/explosion" with eight (in the 2015 were seven).

Moreover, to general level, beyond a third party of the total incidents in 2016 (included the losses totals) they are caused by breakdowns to the machinery. These have been also the cause of the increase of +16% of the incidents in the Mediterranean oriental and Black Sea (563), and this area has replaced the British Islands as main place of incidents of the last decade. The cases of piracy in in transport marine world and incidents in the Arctic Circle are diminished regarding the year precedence. However an increase of the seizures of members of the crews in Asia and West Africa has happened, and is constant the impact of the increase in the polar transits.

"If the tendency to the decrease of the losses in the long term is encouraging - Baptiste Ossena, global has commented product Hull leader & Marine Liabilities of AGCS - we cannot wind down the guard. The marine field, in a period of economic weakness, is exposed to a series of interconnected risks". Remembering that they are in increase the controls of environmental character, with relative elevated pollution endorsements in case, than in the 2017 the new rules are finally effectiveness on the management of the "ballast toilets", with a cost of the conformity to such norms that can have a remarkable incidence on the navigation companies, and that they are in increase the geopolitical risks, for example in areas as Yemen and the Sea of southern China, and the threat of attacks computer science, Ossena has evidenced that "a heavy coincidence is happening that it sees to meet the normative pressure, the decrease of the margins and emerging of new risks".

The AGCS relationship denotes moreover as also the economic aspect has assumed an important weight which cause of lefts. The failure last year of Hanjin Shipping, one of the main world-wide companies of marine transport - the document specifies - has put in evidence some criticalities of this field: the failure cases increase and, when the insufficient debits are high and the gain, the shipowners try to save on the costs of maintenance and the level of formation of the crew, being increased the risks.

"The negligence of the crew and the insufficient maintenance of the ships - Duncan Southcott, global has confirmed head Marine Claims of AGCS - is cause of increase of the risks, above all if the shipowners choose to hire staff with insufficient experience and formation, or choose to lengthen the intervals between the maintenances in order to save on the costs". According to AGCS, negligence and insufficient maintenance are between the root causes of damages to third party in the field of the marine transport and an increase of relative indemnifications to the insufficient maintenance is observed. Therefore they are essential rigorous inspections and serious controls on the maintenance.

The relationship finds moreover that the increasing development of the technology in marine field guarantees improvements in safety, but emphasizes that the confidence excess is risk element. The technology to advantage of safety - the document explains - is already having an infuence on the world of the transports: from the navigation instruments electronic, to the control from earth, the well-being of the crew. The technology is able to reduce is the impact of the human error (from the analysis of AGCS, this represents about 75% of value almost 15,000 indemnifies marine in five years, equivalent to beyond 1,6 billion dollars) is the breakdown to the machinery. For example - the relationship observes - the data transmission already is developed with success in the automotive field, so improving the behavior of leading, and also the field of the marine transports could have use of.

The precise relationship that the insurers as AGCS are beginning to collaborate with the shipowners in it I use of the analysis of the VDR (Given Voyage Recorder), the recorder of the travel data, in order to improve safety. "The data of the VDR - it has specified commander Rahul Khanna, AGCS responsible Marine Risk Consulting - already are used in the inquiries on the incidents, but they afford us also to learn very from the analysis of the daily operations, as the behavior of the crew and the taken one of decisions in case of collision risk".

Khanna however has found that there is also a problem legacy to the excessive confidence in the technology and that the incidents, above all in navigation, continue to happen: "crew and officials - it has clarified - must comprise the limits and the defects of the technological supports. To prefer a digital deduction to a decision based on the good sense is not always a good idea".

Relatively to the threat of cyber-it attacks, the relationship confirmation that continues to being important even if the majority of attacks until now computer science carried out has had as main objective that to violate business safety rather than to take the control of a ship. "The field of the marine transports - marked Khanna has - does not have a particularly high knowledge of the computer science risk. Since still which had important incidents have not happened to cyber-attack, the field are rather ill-prepared regarding this risk. Computer science safety does not have to be put in second floor. If the riuscissero hackers to take the control of a great container vessel in a strategically important route, could block the transits in order much time, provoking important economic damages".