What is the cause of the Suez grounding accident?

What is your responsibility?

Future Focus April 12, 15:52

The accident in which a large container ship owned by Shoei Kisen in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, ran aground on the Suez Canal attracted worldwide attention.

On the night of March 29, Japan time, we managed to take off the reef and the stalemate that had lasted for nearly a week was resolved, but it is expected that it will take some time before the logistics return to normal.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Suez Canal Authority in Egypt.

We will look at the possible causes of the accident and liability issues from the data and interviews that have been clarified so far.

(Matsuyama Broadcasting Station Reporter Eriko Matoba Tomonari Takeda)

What was the situation at the time of the accident?

There are experts in Matsuyama City who are familiar with marine accidents and ship safety measures.

This is Kunihiro Suzuki, a maritime assistant.



A maritime assistant is an expert who acts as a lawyer in a marine accident inquiry held in the event of a ship collision, and Mr. Suzuki is an expert who has investigated domestic and foreign sea accidents for about 40 years.

Why did a huge container ship with a total length of 400 meters climb into shallow water?

Mr. Suzuki showed me a large piece of paper to investigate the situation at that time.

It is a nautical chart of the Suez Canal.

There is no stock in Japan, and Mr. Suzuki ordered it from overseas immediately after the accident.

At the same time, I also obtained the data of AIS = Automatic Identification System for Ships.



AIS is a device that automatically transmits information such as the position, course, and speed of ships by radio waves, and is required to be installed on ships of 500 tons or more and all passenger ships engaged in international routes.

Mr. Suzuki obtained this data through his own route.

Mr. Suzuki says that the AIS data is, so to speak, the "voice of heaven."

The first thing I noticed was the speed of the ship.

The depth of the water at the location of the accident is 25 meters and the width is only about 150 meters.

The width of the container ship is close to 60 meters.



The speed limit is set at about 7 knots because the world's ships come and go through this narrow canal, but the AIS states that it was passing at about 13 knots, 25 km / h, which is much higher than that. It was.



Mr. Suzuki created a graph of data showing the speed from around 7:20 am local time on March 23.

I continued to sail around 13 knots, but suddenly slowed down 40 minutes ago and went to zero after 40 minutes.



At this time, it seems that it ran aground.

10 minutes meandering

In addition, as a result of incorporating AIS data into a detailed chart, it was found that the ship was behaving unnaturally.



About 10 minutes before 7:40 when I got on the shallow water, the ship was repeatedly meandering to approach the left and right shores strangely.

The canal is shaped like a mortar, and the depth of the water becomes shallower toward both banks, increasing the risk of accidents.



Mr. Suzuki said, "If there is too much speed, there is a possibility of meandering. It may have been windy, it may have been speeding up because I wanted to go faster, but I can not identify it at this time." I will.

The key black box "VDR"

Mr. Suzuki points out that VDR = voyage information recorder is extremely important in identifying the cause.



VDR records and records not only how to turn the rudder and speed, but also the interaction between the captain and crew on board.



It has been suggested that sandstorms and gusts led to the accident immediately after the accident, but Mr. Suzuki says that the VDR should clearly record the wind speed and direction at that time.

The Suez Canal Authority in Egypt, which is investigating the cause of the accident, mentioned in previous meetings that the accident may have occurred due to strong winds, technical or human error, etc., including VDR analysis. It seems that they are investigating carefully.



Mr. Suzuki, who once had experience of sailing overseas such as the Panama Canal as the captain of a cargo ship, points out that it is important to thoroughly investigate the cause and consider measures to prevent recurrence.

Mr. Suzuki


"If the analysis of VDR progresses, the whole picture can be clarified. Whether it is necessary to educate seafarers or create new rules for the passage of canals, various measures to prevent similar accidents in the future It is also important to think about

The amount of damage is $ 1 billion?

Another major focus of this accident is the issue of liability.



On March 31, the Suez Canal Authority's Secretary of State for Labia announced that the damage, including costs for the reefing and rescue of container ships, would amount to at least $ 1 billion, or JPY 110 billion in Japanese yen.



On the other hand, Secretary of Labia declined to state that he would "wait for the results of the investigation and consider compensation".



Here, we will once organize the container ship "Evergiven".

Construction ... Imabari Shipbuilding (Imabari City) * Built and



owned in

2018

... Shoei Kisen (Imabari City) *



Operated by

a group company of Imabari Shipbuilding

... Evergreen Marine (Taiwan shipping company) * Shoei Kisen signs a long-term contract as a regular ship



Flight management to

connect

... Bernard Schultz Shipbuilding (Singapore * The world's leading flight management company with 14,000 crew members)

Who will bear the cost

Generally, it is said that the shipowner and others will bear the damage caused by the accident and the cost of rescue.



Shoei Kisen explained at a press conference on March 26 as follows.



· Hull insurance, Tokio Marine & Nichido, Sompo Japan, join the three companies of the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance


, liability insurance is a contract with the UK P & I Club (liability insurance association)



Shoei steamer, such as insurance against NHK interview Showed that it will be covered to some extent.

Shoei Kisen


"In the case of an accident such as grounding, there is a system called" general average "in which the shipowner and shipper share the damage and costs incurred during the voyage, and the parties concerned discuss the accident within this framework. After the cause is clarified, discussions with the insurance company will determine the cost. "

Implicit rule?

Over compensation for damages

However, claims may go beyond canal damage.

The stranded accident forced more than 420 vessels to berth on the Suez Canal for six days, affecting global logistics.



It is theoretically possible for an anchored vessel or shipper to seek compensation for damages caused by cargo delays.



However, according to industry insiders, it is unlikely that other shipowners or shippers affected by these cases will claim compensation from Shoei Kisen.



Claims require proof of the causal link that the delay directly caused damage, but it is difficult to prove, and in this case it is an international practice "implicit rule" not to claim the shipowner. It's called.

Insurance association that protects shipowners

To what extent does the shipowner take responsibility?

Once a ship carrying 20,000 containers becomes larger and an accident occurs, the amount of damage will increase enormously.

For this reason, there is a mechanism to protect the responsibility of the shipowner within a certain range.



The international treaty "Shipowner Liability Limitation Treaty" sets a certain limit on the amount of compensation due to the fact that ships are easily exposed to the violence of nature and the importance of the shipping industry.

There is a shipowner's insurance association "P & I Club" established based on this, and Shoei Kisen also has a contract.



According to Shoei Kisen, Egypt, where the Suez Canal where the accident occurred, has not ratified the current "ship owner liability limitation treaty" and has adopted the treaty before the revision in 1976.

The maximum amount of compensation will change significantly depending on which treaty is applied.



In the case of the current treaty ratified by Japan, the maximum amount for this accident is about 12 billion yen.

On the other hand, the treaty before the revision will be about 3 billion yen.

Which one applies is determined by the court where Shoei Kisen goes through the procedure.

"I want to deliver the container quickly"

The container ship "Ever Given" is still kept in a lake in the middle of the canal, and foreign media said that the Suez Canal Authority's Secretary of State Labia "will remain here until the investigation is completed and compensation is paid." I'm telling you that I said it.



Regarding this, Shoei Kisen said, "Regarding compensation, we mainly leave it to the insurance company, and although we have not received any specific claims, we are discussing with the authorities. We will continue to cooperate with the authorities' investigation, but we will continue to cooperate. I also want to deliver a container as soon as possible. "



Attention will be paid to the investigation of the cause by the Suez Canal Authority and how the subsequent liability and compensation issues will develop.

Matsuyama Broadcasting Station Reporter


Eriko


After working

at

Tokushima Station,


I am

currently


studying about

fried chicken, my favorite food

since 2019.

Matsuyama Broadcasting Station Reporter


Tomonari Takeda


Joined in 2018 As an


economic manager, covered finance and tourism, etc.


Currently, he is interested in the maritime industry such as shipbuilding.

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