Ship Accidents 2020: Here’s a Look Back at the Year’s Biggest Disasters

A Complete List With Photos And Videos Of The Shipping Accidents That Caused The Most Damage To The Shipping Industry In 2020

In 2020, the shipping industry suffered some damage and many accidents, and unfortunately, many ships were sunk, wrecked, or ran aground this year in different parts of the world. Here are some of the incidents involving ships that caused significant damage not only to the shipping industry but also to the environment in 2020.

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Stellar Banner Ship

Loaded with 294,000 tons of ore, the bulk carrier VLOC Stellar Banner left the port of Ponta da Madeira, Brazil, on February 24, heading to Qingdao. The ship reportedly suffered one of the most common accidents – water entering one or more cargo holds, with the cargo deck partially submerged, on February 25, north of São Luís, Brazil. After staying afloat with AIS for a day, it was intentionally grounded to prevent capsizing and sinking, and fortunately, there was a suitable bank nearby.

The integrity of the ship’s hull in the bow section was compromised in two places when the ship was leaving the port, according to authorities. The list developed due to water ingress. It was grounded by the Master while en route, so presumably, the Master saved the ship from sinking.

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Fortunately, all crew members were safe and no water pollution was reported. Declared a constructive total loss, the Stellar Banner was sunk 90 nautical miles (170 km) off the coast of Brazil on June 12, a catastrophe in the shipping industry.

MV Wakashio

The Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on July 25, 2020. The MV Wakashio oil spill occurred off the coast of Pointe d’Esny, south of Mauritius. The ship began leaking fuel oil in the following weeks, and by August 10, about 1,000 metric tons of fuel had spilled, with estimates of remaining oil on board ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 metric tons. The ship broke apart on August 15, when there were still 166 tons of fuel inside.

According to investigators in the shipping industry who interviewed the crew members, the crew was celebrating a sailor’s birthday aboard the ship at the time of the grounding, which had navigated close to shore for a Wi-Fi signal. However, local police denied reports that the ship navigated close to land in search of a Wi-Fi signal, stating that it would not be necessary to navigate so close to shore to search for a phone signal.

The ship then stopped responding to wrong course warnings. The ship’s captain, Captain Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, 58, of Indian nationality, and the third-party chief officer hired by the ship management company HK Anglo-Eastern were arrested on August 18 on suspicion of negligence in the operation of the ship.

MT New Diamond

The large oil tanker MT New Diamond, carrying 270,000 tons of crude oil from Kuwait to the Paradip refinery in India, caught fire about 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of Sri Lanka on September 3, 2020.

Of the 23 crew members on board, one Filipino crew member died in the incident. The other 22 crew members were successfully rescued. The fire that started in the engine room ended up burning the ship intermittently for almost a week and was extinguished on September 11 in the shipping industry.

The Beirut Explosions In 2020 Damaged A Total Of 13 Ships In The Shipping Industry

The cruise ship Orient Queen was docked near the explosion site and was severely damaged before later capsizing. Two crew members died and several others were injured.

The Castle-class patrol vessel BNS Bijoy was also damaged in the explosion, and 21 sailors were injured. The cargo ships Raouf H. and Mero Star were also severely damaged, but fortunately without casualties.

Abou Karim I, II, and III, Amadeo II, Baltagi 17, 19, and 20, City of Rome, DPS Tramontane, and Jouri were the other ships that were affected by the explosion, most of them severely damaged.