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MV Bulk Jupiter

2015-01-02 · Off Vietnamese coast, South China Sea · Supramax bulk carrier · Bahamas flag

Disaster type
capsizing cargo liquefaction
Fatalities
18 killed
Environmental damage
Minimal; wreck at depth on continental shelf.

Accident narrative

The Bahamas-flagged Supramax bulker Bulk Jupiter capsized within minutes in the South China Sea on 2 January 2015 while carrying bauxite from Malaysia to China. 18 of the 19 crew (mostly Filipino) perished; only one survived by climbing into a life raft. Investigation concluded that the bauxite cargo had liquefied — a phenomenon where saturated fine-grained cargo behaves as a fluid rather than a solid, generating free-surface effect that can capsize a vessel in minutes. Cargo moisture content had exceeded the Transportable Moisture Limit (TML) at loading, but the shipper's certification had understated it. Bulk Jupiter drove the fundamental strengthening of Group A cargo controls under IMSBC Code + is the case study every bulk-carrier Master studies for bauxite/nickel-ore/iron-ore-fines carriage.

Crew perspective

Bulk Jupiter is THE modern case for cargo-liquefaction risk. Every bulk-carrier officer's IMSBC training references it. The lesson: never accept an IMSBC Group A cargo without independent verification of moisture content — the shipper's certification cannot be assumed reliable when there is any financial incentive to load in wet-weather conditions.

Regulatory response

Direct impetus for revised IMSBC Code (International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes) Group A cargo (cargoes that may liquefy) requirements. Cited extensively in IMO MSC discussions leading to MSC.462(101) 2019 amendments strengthening moisture-content testing + Transportable Moisture Limit (TML) certification.

See also