Page 12 - INTERCARGO - Bulk Carrier Casualty Report 2023

Summary

 26 bulk carriers (of over 10,000 dwt ) have been identified as
1
total losses for the years 2013 to 2022.
2

Year 10k-34,999 dwt 35k-49,999 dwt 50k-59,999 dwt 60k-79,999 dwt 80k+ dwt Total
2013 1 2 2 0 1 6
2014 1 1 0 0 0 2
2015 2 0 1 2 0 5
2016 0 1 0 0 2 3
2017 0 0 1 0 1 2
2018 0 0 1 0 0 1
2019 0 0 1 0 0 1
2020 0 0 0 0 2 2
2021 1 1 0 0 0 2
2022 1 1 0 0 0 2
Total 6 6 6 2 6 26

Total losses - bulk carriers by size and year
3
 Significant findings

• 80,000+ dwt: Six ships were lost, accounting for 23.1% of the total
26 casualties reported. These casualties cost 22 lives, or 21.2% of
the total 104 lives lost during the period. In 2020 the losses of one

Capesize and one VLOC vessel (Wakashio and Stellar Banner) fo-
cused attention on large bulk carrier safety.
• The lowest number of casualties occurred in the 60,000-79,999
dwt range, representing 7.7% of the total of 26 ship losses, with no

fatalities.
• Other categories saw the loss of six ships with significant loss of life
as a result. The 50,000-59,999 dwt range accounted for 55 seafar-
ers’ lives, (52.9% of the total), 12 fatalities in the 10,000-34,999 dwt

range and 15 in the 35,000-49,999 dwt range.

1 A 9,999 dwt cement carrier was included as an exceptional case for this
report.

2 This document provides information on casualty data related to bulk carriers
above 10,000 dwt. INTERCARGO’s classification of ship casualties follows the same
principles used in IMO’s classification on GISIS. The assumed definitions of vessel
sizes used in this report are for continuity and easier comparison with past reports.

3 These arbitrary size ranges are used for easy comparison with past reports.

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