集装箱船频发火灾给班轮公司敲响警钟

Deadly container ship fires finally spurring carrier action

全球平均每60天就发生一起集装箱船火灾。造成这种情况的部分原因是,运输过程中仍然存在的涣散现象。或许＂马士基浩南＂号火灾事故将在整个行业触发积极且必要的变革。

The horrible fire aboard the 15,000-TEU Maersk Honam that began on March 6 in the Arabian Sea on a westbound voyage, killing five of its 27 crew members, seems to have done something that other recent container ship fires failed to do: spurred carriers into action. It's now an unavoidable fact that the precautions traditionally taken to avoid container ship fires — such as ensuring that stowage plans comply with dangerous goods guidelines and carriers scan bills of lading for keywords indicating the possibility of misdeclared cargoes—are failing to adequately mitigate the risk to crews, cargoes, and ships. According to the insurer TT Club, container ship fires are occurring at an average rate of one every 60 days. Part of the reason for this is the sloppiness that still exists in the shipping process. It's unfortunate that it takes a tragic incident such as the Honam fire to create movement in addressing a problem that has to be seen as out of control. Maersk hopes others will follow its lead in responding. Maybe Honam will come to be seen as a catalyst for positive, necessary change.