The apparent catastrophic structural failure of the Polaris Shipping-owned, 266,000-dwt very large ore carrier (VLOC) Stellar Daisy (built 1993) has raised serious questions over the safety of more than 40 VLCCs converted to ore carriers between 2008 and 2011.

The tragedy last Friday claimed the lives of eight South Korean and 14 Filipino seafarers on the 23-year-old bulker fully laden with Brazilian iron ore bound for China.