WSC: Over 9,600 cargo units found with safety deficiencies during inspections

September 16 ------ More than one in 10 cargo transport units inspected in 2025 were found to have safety deficiencies, according to data compiled and published by the World Shipping Council (WSC), highlighting continued risks associated with cargo declaration, packing, marking and securing.

According to WSC’s consolidated results of container inspection programs, government authorities in seven countries reported 93,079 unit inspections, identifying deficiencies in 9,645 units, equivalent to a 10.36% deficiency rate, compared to 11.39% in 2024. The problems included incorrect documentation, improper marking and labelling, inadequate packing and insufficient cargo securing. "Finding deficiencies in more than one in ten inspected units is far too high. Correct declaration, packing, securing and marking are fundamental safety obligations. When these requirements are not met, people’s lives are put at risk," said Joe Kramek, President and CEO of the World Shipping Council.

On a positive note, according to RiSK4SEA’s PSC Stress Index (PSI) Outlook for September 2026, the Container segment remains at PSI-2 and now presents one of the strongest overall performance pictures. The segment recorded only 12 detentions from 922 PSC inspections, with a detention rate of 1.30% compared with the historical baseline of 2.08%. Detention activity was 43.1% below the 36-month average, while average KPI stress moved into slightly favorable territory at -2.6%.

Placarding and securing account for most deficiencies

The category breakdown shows that placarding and marking of cargo transport units (CTUs) accounted for the largest share of identified deficiencies, at 46.72%, followed by stowage and securing inside freight containers, vehicles and other CTUs at 26.57%. Marking and labelling of packages represented 10.67%, while documentation accounted for 6.75%. Other deficiencies included inappropriate or damaged packaging (4.19%), serious structural deficiencies (2.48%), segregation of cargo (2.21%), and portable tanks or road tank vehicles not covered by CSC (0.42%). No deficiencies were recorded in the category of tie-down attachments of road tank vehicles.

Inspection results reveal global reporting gaps

The data consolidates inspection results submitted to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) by Chile, Finland, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Sweden and the United States.

WSC undertook the consolidation and publication of the results after the IMO discontinued its annual consolidated report in 2024, aiming to keep inspection data accessible to governments and the maritime industry.

However, the WSC noted a significant gap in global reporting. Only seven of the IMO’s more than 170 Member States reported container inspection results for 2025, meaning the available figures do not provide a complete picture of cargo safety compliance worldwide. "The fact that only seven Member States reported results is concerning. More governments need to report their inspections so that risks can be consistently identified and action taken," Kramek noted.

The findings also underscore the importance of stronger controls over dangerous and improperly declared cargo before it reaches ships. The inspection results therefore point to two parallel challenges for the industry: improving compliance by shippers and cargo interests, while strengthening government inspection and reporting practices to ensure that safety risks are identified consistently across the global supply chain.

Source: safety4sea.com