New SOLAS Amendments Require Immediate Reporting of Lost Containers

Recently adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) by the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 108) will require the Master of a ship involved in the loss of containers to make an immediate report starting from 1 January 2026. The amendments, specifically amending SOLAS Chapter V Regulations 31 and 32, were praised by the liner shipping representative body, the World Shipping Council (WSC).

According to Lars Kjaer, SVP Safety & Security for WSC, these new regulations represent a significant advancement in maritime safety and environmental protection. The amendments aim to enhance navigational safety, facilitate swift response actions, and mitigate potential environmental hazards by ensuring prompt and detailed reporting of lost and drifting containers to nearby ships, the nearest coastal state, and the flag State.

Under the new regulations, the Master must provide specific details in the immediate report to nearby ships, the nearest coastal state, and the flag State. The flag State will then relay this information to the IMO through a new module in the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS). Additionally, Masters who observe drifting containers are required to report them to nearby ships and the coastal state. The incidents involving the ONE Apus in 2020 and Maersk Essen in 2021, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of containers, highlighted the importance of these reporting regulations in preventing such occurrences.

Source .