More than 9,600 cargo transport units were found with safety deficiencies during government inspections in 2025, with incorrect marking and cargo securing accounting for most violations.
The World Shipping Council (WSC) compiled inspection results from seven countries covering 93,079 cargo units. Inspectors identified deficiencies in 9,645 units, giving an overall deficiency rate of 10.36%.
Placarding and marking violations were the largest category, accounting for 46.72% of all deficiencies. Another 26.57% involved stowage and securing inside containers and other cargo transport units.
Other findings included incorrect package marking and labelling at 10.67%, documentation deficiencies at 6.75% and inappropriate or damaged packaging at 4.19%.
Structural deficiencies, cargo segregation problems and non-compliant portable tanks or road tank vehicles accounted for smaller shares.
The WSC warned that such failures can increase the risk of cargo damage, container losses and fires. The risks are particularly serious when dangerous goods are incorrectly declared or handled.
The 2025 deficiency rate was down from 11.39% in 2024 but remained above levels seen earlier in the decade. Between 2017 and 2025, the annual rate averaged more than 9%. It fell to 6.5% in 2020 and 7.4% in 2021 before rising again.
The figures also highlight a major gap in global oversight. Only Chile, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden and the United States submitted container inspection results for 2025, despite the IMO having more than 170 Member States.
The WSC began consolidating the data after the IMO discontinued its annual global report in 2024. The council has called on more governments to submit inspection results to provide a broader picture of cargo safety compliance.
