GANDER Storms damage

Conventional weather forecasts work well for much of the time. But the violent storms that cause the greatest damage and delay, posing the greatest threat to human lives, are much more difficult to calculate and track to the required accuracy.

The facts tell their own story:

• Bad weather causes on average one ship of over 500 tonnes to sink somewhere on the globe every week.
• In 1998, the marine insurance industry paid out over $2.5 billion in claims for weather related accidents.
• In November 1998, a single ship lost containers with a value of $100 million in a storm in the North Pacific.
• Since 1990, over 15 000 lives have been lost at sea.

GANDER's virtually real-time information on the sea state will allow shipping to avoid sea conditions that could impede progress, or put cargo, ship or crew at risk.