A damming new report from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is shedding more new light on the circumstances surrounding the Wakashio disaster.

It turns out that the Wakashio only had 20 crew on board.

For vessels of this class (the Wakashio was one of the largest ships in the sea, a Capesize class, meaning it is too large to pass through the Panama and Suez Canals), the crew size should have been 24.

This is because the Wakashio was 13 years old. Crew sizes are larger for older ships ships as the maintenance workload starts to increase. Capesize Bulk Carriers under 10 years are allowed 20 crew, between 10 and 20 years old, 24 crew and above 20 years old, require 28 crew.

Read the article here or download this pdf