Industry needs to save those who save ships

LAST week's column was about managing risk in the shipping industry. The biggest risk of all is that ships and lives are lost.

Compared to just a few decades ago, the modern shipping industry is much safer. Not only do fewer ships actually sink, but fewer also have major accidents - or in parlance of the industry become "casualties".

A few months ago, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) released statistics showing that the frequency of major vessel casualties rose in 2016 for the second consecutive year. There had been a year-on-year decline until 2015 when they recorded a sharp upturn which continued in 2016.