The new standards, known as unified requirements (UR), have been specifically developed for vessels over 90 metres in length.

They are the result of an IACS working group into boxship safety set up after the loss of the 8,110-teu MOL Comfort (built 2008) which dramatically sank after breaking in two in the Indian Ocean.

But containership construction standards have also been under review since the structural failure of the MSC Napoli in 2008.

These