New minimum hatch cover strength requirements should be brought in for all new and 476 existing bulk carriers, according to the findings of the re-opened formal investigation into the loss of the OBO Derbyshire.
The report published in the UK on Wednesday states: "This report concludes that the minimum hatch cover strength requirements laid down for forward hatches in ILLC 66 (International Load Line Convention 1966) in conjunction with the prescribed minimum permissible freeboard for B-60 bulk carriers of similar size to the Derbyshire are seriously deficient in the context of present day concepts of acceptable safety levels."
It
