There are many dangers that can be encountered during any international trade supply chain. The following is a real life example of an unpredictable situation at sea and how you can protect your cargo.
As a container ship journeys to its port of destination, there are a countless amount of unpredictable threats it can encounter along the way. These could include storms, onboard fires, mechanical malfunctions, piracy, and many other unforeseen situations. These can be disastrous no matter where the container ship is located, but when they occur on the open ocean, the overall threat is elevated to a new level.
When disaster strikes, it can often result in a loss of cargo or heavy damage sustained by that cargo. In these cases, it is the importer that owns the damaged goods that must suffer that loss and deal with the consequences of the scenario.
The following is a real-life example of an unavoidable disaster that befell the container ship M/V Bai Chay Bridge as it made its way from the port at Long Beach, California, USA to Tokyo, Japan.A Containership’s Encounter with Typhoon Guchol
In early June 2012, a tropical disturbance formed south-southeast of Pohnpei. Throughout the month this disturbance intensified until it become designated Typhoon Guchol. Guchol moved up past the Philippines until it finally made landfall on the Kii Penisula in Japan.
As the typhoon made its way through parts of the Pacific, the container vessel M/V Bai Chay Bridge was caught up in the winds and waves along its route (seen below).
The storm’s Category 4 force winds and rain caused damage to the cargo onboard the M/V Bai Chay Bridge container ship. This damage can be seen in the way stacks of containers hang off the side of the boat after being blown over. In a few cases, this led to lower containers getting crushed by the large stacks above them.
See Pictures of the Damaged Cargo On Board M/V Bai Chay Bridge
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- At Anchor At Hong Kong, cargo is damaged on board the M/V Bai Chay Bridge.
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- After encountering a typhoon during transit, M/V Bai Chay Bridge returns to port with damaged cargo.
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- The unpredictable dangers of international trade can lead to damaged cargo.
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- Shipping containers are crushed on board the M/V Bai Chay Bridge during a typhoon in Japan.
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- The shipping containers at the back of M/V Bai Chay Bridge hang off the container ship.
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- These shipping containers have sustained major damage during their supply chain.
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- It is impossible to predict the conditions that will be encountered during transit of goods.
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- The shipping containers on board M/V Bai Chay Bridge hang off the ship after going through a typhoon.
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- Cargo damage is severe as seen by this crushed container on board M/V Bai Chay Bridge.
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- M/V Bai Chay Bridge returns to port with damaged shipping containers after encountering a typhoon.
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- M/V Bai Chay Bridge arrives to the safety of Asian ports.
Protect Your Cargo with All-Risk Marine Cargo Insurance
Unfortunately for the cargo’s owners, the incident documented when M/V Bai Chay Bridge encountered Typhoon Guchol is an entirely unavoidable and unpredictable situation that lead to major losses and/or damaged cargo. The only real way to protect yourself and protect your cargo in the event of a natural disaster such as this is with a quality All-Risk Marine Cargo Insurance policy.
An All-Risk Marine Cargo Insurance policy will cover the loss of cargo making it easy for you, the company bringing in the goods, to move forward while, ultimately, helping you protect your cargo and your business from an unforeseen complication in transit.
In this case, General Average was not declared since the voyage did not have to be preserved from peril. This makes an insurance claim for the loss cargo significantly less complicated. For an example of General Average and how it effects importers, check out the story of M/V MSC Sabrina in a previous post.
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All photos and statistics for this story gathered from Cargo Law
