Agency Says Baltimore Bridge Ship “Dali” Had Good Risk Safety Score, But Warned That the Ship’s Fleet Operator Urgently Needed a Control Plan to Mitigate Risk

Copyright, The Frump Report

The container ship Dali, which lost power and collided with a bridge near Baltimore early this morning, was given a positive “green” rating by the International Maritime Risk Rating Agency but its operator , Synergy Marine PTE Ltd, was flagged with an urgent “amber” rating for its performance operating a small fleet of vessels that included the Dali.

The information is contained in a report ordered by this column.

The European-based agency, which uses past ship incidents, age, vessel type and group reputation, to estimate risk, gave the ship a 30 percent risk factor. The Dali belonged in the risk class labeled: Proceed: Vessel higher standard of vessel operation.

However, the operating group was assigned a 36 percent risk rate, which drops it into the yellow/amber caution zone.

Here is what the risk group says about manager ratings:

“Technical Manager/Operator Traffic Light Risk Ratings Explained

Red. Critical: Stop! Fleet high risk for severe incidents/casualties.
Amber. Urgent: Immediate action risk control plan required to mitigate potential risk.
Green. Proceed: Good to go! A higher standard of vessel operation.

The report does not give specific details of what produced the warning but generally the scores are created statistically based on ship inspection data, collision data, ship age, repairs, dry-docks, registration country (flag), and other maritime factors. This would include the performance of all ships in the operator’s fleet — not just the Dali. Several of the other ships scored higher (less favorably) than the Dali.

The rating agency says for example that an operator check includes these points”

• “Review all fleet operated vessels”
• “Does the Operator have a good reputation for vessel management across its entire fleet?”
• “Are fleet efficiencies working?”

Here is the agency’s report on all ships managed by Synergy Marine:

Vessel Name	IMO Number	Vessel Type	Analysis Date	Risk Rating	Fleet Type Avg.
ZOLA	9700146	Bulk carrier	21-FEB-24	36 %	39%
LAMPARD	9723980	Bulk carrier	28-NOV-23	38 %	39%
EVER GIFTED	9786827	Container Ship	17-NOV-23	31 %	39%
DALI	9697428	Container Ship	17-NOV-23	30 %	39%
AM OCEAN SILVER	9288497	Bulk carrier	17-NOV-23	34 %	39%
LOWLANDS HORIZON	9826471	Bulk carrier	13-NOV-23	34 %	39%
LOWLANDS FUTURE	9799771	Bulk carrier	13-NOV-23	29 %	39%

1The report does not mean the operator or ship passed or failed any formal inspections, but the criticism of the operator may focus investigators on how well the ship was maintained. Many ships, for example, have back-up systems on power and steering. Moreover, in some passages before reaching open waters, tugboats are called in as a back-up safety measure.

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