The recommendation was part of a report published by Lashing@Sea, the international project to investigate why containers are lost overboard.

The group also called for a review of current lashing standards, unified interpretation of international guidelines, and the introduction of new standards for survey and maintenance, in a bid to make it easier to recognise degradation and malfunction of lashing parts that are difficult to inspect.

Lashing@Sea issued its recommendations at the end of a three-year monitoring project which included crew from nearly 160 vessels.

The report said it was crucial that cargo was stowed onboard in agreement with the stow plan – and that required the actual measured container weight to be on the documentation.

“To prevent shifting containers, the stack should not be overweighted and yet, in some instances, the crew reported that the container’s actual weight and vertical position bears no relation to the pre-stowage plan.”

The group also urged the industry to further consider the working environment, and said the probability for “out of design” conditions must be assessed to increase safety.

Lashing@Sea is a consortium of 24 participants representing flag states, class societies, shipowners and lashing equipment manufacturers.