Sinking of bauxite carrying Bulk Jupiter cost 18 lives and is causing a rethinking of industry standards. The capsize and sinking of the Bulk Jupiter, a Bahamas flag vessel, on January 2 of this year, with the loss of 18 of its 19 crew members, has highlighted the dangers faced by carriers of cargo subject to liquefaction. The ship was carrying bauxite, an aluminum ore and the world’s main source of aluminum, which had been loaded at Kuantan, Malaysia, and was headed for China. Cargo liquefaction occurs when dry bulk cargoes with high moisture contents, such as those containing fine particles, are loaded into the holds of dry bulk carriers and can start to behave like liquids when the ship is moving. The cargoes shift rapidly in the holds of a ship, causing the vessel to become unstable. According to published reports, the sole survivor of the Jupiter tragedy, the ship’s chef, reported that the incident leading to the capsize occurred suddenly and for no apparent reason. Cargo Standards Compounding the problem associated with the cargo are standards promulgated by the industry’s International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code. The Code classifies bauxite as a Group C cargo, meaning that it is not subject to liquefaction. The Code also specifies that under certain conditions, Group C cargoes can behave like Group A cargoes, those subject to liquefaction, and that precautions should be taken. (Group B consists of cargoes which possess a chemical hazard which could give rise to a dangerous situation on a ship.) The point is that cargo classified as Group C may not in fact be Group C, and that shippers, ship owners and operators, maritime insurers, and governments must all be cognizant of that fact. Malaysia began to export more bauxite in early 2014, especially to China, after Indonesia banned the export of bauxite and other non-processed mineral ores in January of last year. In the first eleven months of 2014 Malaysia exported 2.6 million metric tons of bauxite to China. Like iron ore, bauxite is often stored out in the open and exposed to weather. Malaysia is often soaked by monsoons from November until March. Although much of the industry activity post-Jupiter focused on Malaysia, this is not the first time the liquefaction of bauxite has come to the attention of the industry. In March 2012 the industry witnessed an “exponential increase” in the number of cases involving the liquefaction of bauxite cargoes deriving from the Amazon bay region, according to Christian Ott, vice president and head of claims for the Singapore branch of Skuld, a maritime insurer headquartered in Oslo. “The precise cause for such excessive moisture content was not determined but it is thought to be connected to the rainy season,” said Ott. “Some terminals do not suspend loading operations during rain and the cargoes are not left in the storage areas long enough to drain.” Most of the issues resulting from the 2012 series of incidents related mainly related to delays and extra costs associated with cargo discharge operations. Intercargo Concerned The International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (Intercargo) jumped on the Jupiter incident to remind the industry of the continued dangers associated with the carriage of bulk cargoes that may have a potential for liquefaction. Intercargo represents over 160 carrier owner and operators of vessels engaged in the transport of dry bulk commodities such as coal, grain and iron ore. “Intercargo has repeatedly expressed concern over the need for increased care and vigilance when bulk cargoes that have the potential for liquefaction are to be carried,” said David Tongue, Intercargo’s secretary general. “We have achieved success through the International Maritime Organization towards improved testing and verification of the carriage conditions for iron ore and nickel ore cargoes. Bauxite appears to be another cargo that now requires the increased vigilance necessary to ensure safe carriage conditions are validated and maintained.” Shipowners, operators and charterers should exercise extreme care when dealing with any cargo that has the potential to liquefy, Tongue added. “Intercargo reiterates the importance of caution being the best policy,” he said. “If there is any doubt whatsoever with the authenticity or content of the cargo declaration, Intercargo strongly advocates the use of independent tests to check and report actual cargo condition prior to loading.” Tongue also noted that the IMSBC Code specifies that “what is normally considered a Group C cargo may have the potential to behave like a Group A cargo when that cargo’s specified characteristics are not maintained, especially when cargoes with higher levels of fine particles and moisture beyond those specified” in the Code. The IMSBC Code states that “many fine-particle cargoes, possessing sufficiently high moisture content, are liable to flow. Thus any damp or wet cargo containing a proportion of fine particles should be tested for flow characteristics prior to loading.” Bauxite cargo may come with a particle consistency of varying sizes and dimensions and cargoes could be a mixture of fine particles and smaller particles as well as lumps and rocks. “In practice, we have had experience of shipments of bauxite which appeared to show signs of liquefaction,” said Ott. “Expert advice on the issue would suggest that depending on the composition of the cargo, it is possible for liquefaction to occur. This may particularly be the case when the cargo is pre-filtered to separate fine and large particles. Water may be introduced into the cargo in this process or the cargo may have undergone some other form of partial processing or crushing.” Compounding the problem is that many receivers of bauxite cargo are thought to prefer fine textured, as opposed to lumpy or rocky, material. Depending on the particular circumstances of any given shipment, it would appear that bauxite may come with the risk of liquefaction. “As such,” said Ott, “it may not be safe to assume that simply because a cargo has been declared by the shippers to be Category C, that in fact it is.” IMSBC Code The IMSBC Code contains specifications which state that that if over two-thirds of the cargo is in the form of lumps that the cargo is not prone to the risk of liquefaction. “That may not be a safe assumption to make,” said Ott. “The Code should not be read to say that all bauxite is in fact Category C, as actual composition and moisture content will impact the risk of liquefaction. Experts have told us that a cargo with 70 percent of particles ranging from 2.5 to 10 mm could, depending on moisture content, in fact display signs of being prone to liquefaction and thus act like a Category A cargo, and be be prone to liquefy.” In January, after the Jupiter incident, representatives of Intercargo met with the Malaysian Maritime Attaché to the IMO, for dialogue in an effort to help ensure all future solid bulk cargoes from Malaysian ports are verified safe to ship. Intercargo also reported that, following the Bulk Jupiter casualty, bauxite cargo being loaded from Kuantan has been suspended by most shipowners due to tests indicating that the cargo presented is potentially unsafe to load. “We have also learned that one such cargo has arrived at its discharge port in a liquefied condition,” said Tongue. But the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has advised that maritime stakeholders should not view the difficulties encountered with bauxite as a geographic problem, but that may be inherent to the cargo itself. “Particularly at risk would be cargoes consisting of a large quantity of fine particles and/or powdered form,” the organization noted in an advisory. Maritime stakeholders “are reminded to exercise caution, and to ensure that masters and vessels have the necessary information and support in relation to any cargo that may be carried which could present unusual difficulties.”