According to structural engineer John Jubb these ships are simply not strong enough. They have increased in size without any significant design changes and the hull and bulkheads cannot take the stresses and strains of the tramp trade. In the past ten years 49 of these huge vessels have broken up, taken in water, and, silently and quickly, disappeared. Over 550 seamen have died. For the sailors on board these leviathans it's a harsh life with few creature comforts.
Crews are mainly from countries like India and the Philippines, and the pay is low.
They have no real rights and very few dare complain about the state of their ships because they know the crewing agencies will take them off the books. There is no international body with any teeth who is interested in their plight. The Christinaki was owned and operated by two different Greek companies, and registered in Malta. But it was classed by Lloyd's Register in London, and hired by British companies to load and unload cargo at British ports. The international community has done little to stem the tide of bulk carrier losses, which continue at a slow but deadly rate.