Collaborative report issues practical advice to help cut costly wet damage claims

A new report published by leading marine insurer The Swedish Club and prepared with MacGregor and DNV GL, urges bulk carrier owners to pay attention to basic maintenance to help improve safety and tackle costly wet damage claims 

The recently published report Wet Damage on Bulk Carriers, addresses the issue of rising wet damage claims from bulk carrier owners and identifies heavy weather and leaking hatch covers as the most common and costliest cause of bulk carrier claims between 2008 and 2017; with the average cost for a wet damage cargo claim close to USD 110,000. 

In heavy weather, hatch covers and their associated sealing systems are often fully-immersed in seawater, therefore they must be correctly fitted and maintained. The report’s numerous case studies reveal that many claims could have been avoided, finding that hatch components were in poor repair, and applications of tape and seal-foam prove no substitute for good maintenance. 

Drawing on his lengthy experience of hatch cover repair and maintenance for the report, Mikko Sinivaara, Technical Manager, Hatch Covers, MacGregor Global Lifecycle Support, says that: “Many elements combine to produce a safe cargo handling system, including important factors,  such as hatch cover strength and weathertightness.

“The marine environment is corrosive and these systems have to be built to withstand demanding conditions, however once in service, they must be properly maintained by operators so that the safety of crew, cargo and vessel is not compromised.” 

The report cites the most common wet damage issues include leaking cross joints and compression bars, rubber gaskets, hatch coamings, drain channels and cleats in poor condition.

“Hatches leak for a variety of reasons, but mainly because of poor maintenance or failure to close them properly,” says Lars Malm, Director, Strategic Business Development and Client Relations at The Swedish Club. “Leaking or badly maintained hatch covers can lead to more serious consequences than wet cargo – flooding, accelerated corrosion or even loss of the ship.”

Practical advice is at hand
Prepared in conjunction with Norwegian classification society DNV GL and MacGregor, the report provides practical advice on how to mitigate the risk of wet damage, including easy-to-follow checklists and explanations of the routine tasks that operators can undertake as part of a vessel’s planned maintenance system (PMS).

Read the full report 

Source: www.swedishclub.com (https://www.swedishclub.com/publications/publications/loss-prevention-and-brochures/  Joakim Enström, Loss Prevention Officer at The Swedish Club