SHIPPING Southeast Asia still top region for losses
Asia Pacific remains the region with the biggest shipping losses, accounting for 45 per cent of the total globally in 2018, according to the Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE’s (AGCS) Safety & Shipping Review 2019.
The annual study analyses reported shipping losses over 100 gross tons (GT).
In 2018, 21 total losses of vessels were reported in Asia Pacific, down from 46 losses in the previous year, driven by a significant decline in activity in Southeast Asia, and reduced weather-related losses after quieter hurricane and typhoon seasons.
While this plummet in total losses is encouraging, the number of reported shipping incidents overall in Asia actually increased by 22 per cent in the past four years, according to analysis of data from 4,000 insured vessels by AGCS. However, this is due more to the sheer volume of ships that pass through the region, rather than below-par safety standards.
“We do typically see more incidents of groundings and collisions in Asia than in other locations around the world, but this generally reflects the higher levels of trade and where ship owners are trading,” said Tom Taberner, regional head of energy and marine Asia Pacific at AGCS.
“In many cases port infrastructure in Asia is new and there are many new or expanding ports in China, Korea, Japan and Malaysia among others. Newer infrastructure means fewer issues, better port operations and more up-to-date charts, which will address challenges.”
