Page 21: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2012)

Without shipping, global trade, the bulk trans- port of raw materials and the import/export of affordable food and manufactured goods would simply not be possible. Despite the fact that ships have never been so technically advanced, carried so much cargo, or been as environmentally-friendly as they are today, accidents still happen, which in turn leads to many claims being made. Although complex, the common reasons for these accidents occurring can include a lack of knowledge of the stringent requirements associated with cargo transportation and human error. Over the last three years in particular, where the mari- time logistics supply chain has had to cope with the economic crisis and look at ways of reducing costs, there has also been a more worrying trend towards cutting corners in some areas of transportation. Lashing and securing of cargo is one such area where in the past, the approach was to invest in marine surveyors to monitor and certify the lashing and securing. The decision to reduce or avoid the costs for such expert interven- tion only serves to exacerbate the issue and increase the num- ber of claims. On the other hand, the use of accurate weather forecast information can be deployed to reduce lashings in a responsible way, avoiding the costs of unnecessary ?over lash- ing? of the cargo. Carrying out marine investigations after an incident is no mean feat and can be extremely complex and time-consum- ing. Firstly, the investigators must try and provide a recon- struction of what happened. Courts always have to rely on witness statements which, by its very nature are always go- ing to be somewhat subjective. Therefore, it?s important for By Jeroen De Haas, MD, BMT De Beer and Han Wensink, MD, BMT ARGOSS www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 21MTR #8 (18-33).indd 21MTR #8 (18-33).indd 2110/3/2012 9:42:03 AM10/3/2012 9:42:03 AM