The risk of oil shortage is not only the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz….a series of..! Ship accident “Tanker stranded in Chiba” drone on site

The tanker that caused the accident was also involved in an accident last year.

The coast of Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, is lined with petrochemical complexes. A tanker ran aground on a wave-dissipating block bordering land. The tilted hull of the tanker indicates the severity of the impact at the time of the collision. Tugboats were passing around the tanker in an attempt to get it offshore, but nothing could be done and it remained there for more than a day.

The tanker ran aground near Chikusa Beach in Ichihara City at around 10:30 p.m. on April 7. The Japan Coast Guard Headquarters received a call for help when the tanker was anchored with its anchor down in Tokyo Bay when strong winds swept it about 600 meters and it collided with a wave-erasing block. The six crew members on board were uninjured.

It was a windy day, with wind speeds of up to 18 mph at the scene. A resident living in the area said, “Windy days are strong in early spring.

On that day, the doors were slamming at night, so much so that I couldn’t sleep well. But I had never heard of a large tanker running aground in this area, so I was surprised.

The tanker that ran aground was the Hoshin Maru. The tanker that ran aground was the Hoshin Maru, a chemical tanker with a gross tonnage of 498 tons and a length of about 64 meters. A spokesperson for the company that manages the vessel said, “On the day of the accident, a chemical tanker ran aground in the port of Chiba.

At 17:35, the anchor was lowered, but strong winds swept it away, and despite the crew’s best efforts, it ran aground. We are told that no lookout was placed because the vessel was not expected to be swept away with the anchor down. The ship has now already left shore.”

Although an unfortunate accident, the Hoshin Maru was actually involved in a collision last year as well. The cause was the navigator’s “falling asleep.

According to the investigation report by the Japan Transport Safety Board, at around 2:10 p.m. on January 4, ’25, the Hoshin Maru collided with a breakwater in the Oppama district of Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, damaging part of the vessel. At that time, the weather was clear, the wind was light, and visibility was good. The ship was navigating with automatic steering, but the navigator had slept only about two hours on the day of the accident and fell asleep while leaning against the steering stand.

The vessel was equipped with an alarm system to detect doze-off, but it did not work. The navigator woke up and hurriedly switched to manual steering, but he was unable to respond and the ship collided.

Severe labor shortage.”

A representative of the company that owns the Hoshin Maru told the author that “we are sorry for the trouble we have caused to so many people” after two consecutive years of maritime accidents.

Accidents involving cargo vessels have been occurring one after another. In February this year, a cargo ship and a pleasure fishing boat collided off the coast of Mie Prefecture, killing two people and injuring 10 others; in March, a cargo ship and a fishing boat collided off the coast of Aomori Prefecture, killing four crew members of the fishing boat that capsized. Some believe that these accidents are related to a shortage of labor and the resulting deterioration of the working environment.

A staff member at a shipping company explains.

The industry continues to face a serious shortage of labor, and the job-to-applicant ratio is four to five times, making it a super seller’s market. More than half of the crew members are now over 50 years old. The risk of accidents is increasing due to the deteriorating working environment caused by the chronic labor shortage.

In its report, BIMCO ( Boltic International Maritime Council), the largest international shipping association, points out that there is a shortage of about 90,000 certified officers worldwide who command and supervise ship operations, and that solving the seafarer shortage is now a global issue.

Japan, which relies on imports for nearly 100% of its crude oil, is no stranger to this issue. If a major accident were to occur on an oil tanker due to a shortage of labor, it would cause a serious shortage of crude oil and a sharp rise in prices. Depending on the unpredictable relationship between the U.S. and Iran, there are concerns about further oil supply risks, but the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is not the only factor causing such uncertainty.