Containership safety is high on the agenda of an International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) political forum that aims to influence organisations such as the IMO and the European Union.

Last year’s devastating mid-Atlantic fire on the 6,732–teu MSC Flaminia (built 2001) has highlighted at least a couple of the key issues such as potential misdeclaration of shipping containers, the fire fighting capability of containerships, especially larger vessels, and the difficulty of damaged ships finding ports of refuge.

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