Improving safety of maritime containers shipping

Shipping is the key transport system of the global trade, covering about 90% of goods’ volumes and values worldwide. In this context, the containers represent the key transport unit. The structure of the containers is still based on the original design principles, which do not explicitly consider the safety against relevant accidental events, such as fires and fall, that could penalize the containers transport, both in the terminals and onboard the ships. Moreover, these threats have also potentially important risks for operators and crews as well as for the marine environment. The present paper focuses on the activities planned within an EU funded project, which starts from a review of the concerned accidental events involving losses due to containers’ fall or fires. The research will focus on the definition of appropriate customized methods for quantitative risk analysis of single events and their potential combinations; the setup of systematic processes to apply at the occurrence of the events; the fixation of quantitative safety goals to achieve by selecting and implementing the most appropriate solutions by means of technologies and operational measures. A risk analysis framework will enable appropriate risk assessment and treatment according to magnitude and typology of identified hazards. It will consider the likelihood of the events, the identification of potential consequences and their magnitude measurement, the determination of the risks of single events as well as their combinations and sequences. The risk assessment process will consist of their identification, analysis, and evaluation. The main purpose will be to fully understand the nature of hazards and its characteristics. The analysis will also consider sources, likelihood, uncertainties, consequences, as well as effectiveness of preventing and mitigating actions. They will be inputs for risk evaluation modelling and building scenarios, to decide on how to select and apply appropriately preventing and mitigating treatments.