In the latest edition of its Signals newsletter, the North of England P&I Club says it has previously reminded members about proper stowage of containers, but claims for collapse of stows in heavy weather continue to arise.

“From the ship’s side, it is important to make sure the port is doing its job properly – the ship should monitor that stowage and securing is correctly done,” says Mr Baker.

“Lots of the planning is now done by the terminals and the containers are loaded on to the ship by the terminals, but the ship still has responsibility to check that everything is done properly.

“So the ship is not doing the planning but is still responsible for it – that is a very,very difficult situation for the ship.”

Often, says Mr Baker, ships only get the information they need minutes before they are due to sail,limiting the opportunity for checking.

“The ship’s Cargo Security Manual must be on the ship and our advice simply is to make sure that the port has that planner and is using that information, while the ship must check that the stowage and securing have been done according to that information.”

However, the blurring of boundaries when it comes to operations and responsibilities creates all sorts of problems.

The North of England advises its members to make sure that their ships are in good condition – that ladders are OK, that there are no oil spills that could cause someone to slip, for example.

“Also, dockers should not go into any areas of the ship apart from those that they are allowed in.They should not be wandering anywhere else.

“Ships should not be letting anybody on board who isn’t properly dressed or supervised - and if the crew see anybody doing anything stupid like climbing on top of containers, that should be stopped.”

And the North of England points out in its Signals article: “If masters find that the stowage plan provided by the planners does not comply with the Cargo Security Manual, they are fully entitled to refuse to sail in such a condition. Masters are entitled to insist that the ship is replanned and the stowage amended before it sails.”