Safety is being compromised in the container shipping industry in the hunt for profits say industry experts.
Tight schedules, larger ship designs and lack of control of cargo have all been identified as problem areas.
The industry needs to work together says Stephen Meyer, head of the UK's Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).
"Whilst there is no safety standard, and companies are in cut-throat competition with each other, then corners will be cut and safety will be compromised."
Meyer says that hazardous contents of containers are not always reported, ships are frequently overloaded and the development in the design of ships has not kept up with the growth of the vessels themselves.
Napoli inquiry
Meyer led the inquiry into the beaching of the container ship Napoli off the Devon coast last year.
The MAIB report blamed the hull failure on a "lack of buckling strength in the engine room region".
"The majority of all accidents are related to human error, rather than structural failing in the shipping industry"
More than 1,500 similar ships were screened following the incident, of which 12 unidentified ships required strengthening work "to bring them up to acceptable safety standards", according to the MAIB report.
The Napoli was considered huge when built in 1991, with a capacity to carry 6000 containers.
Now ships are being built that can carry almost three times this cargo.
The largest container ship currently operating is the Emma Maersk, operated by the Maersk Company.
It is a quarter of a mile long and can carry 15,200 containers.
Mr Meyer says that when the Napoli was built, safety standards had not kept up with the growth of the vessels.
And he is also concerned at a lack of control of the weights of containers.
The Napoli itself was 1000 tonnes over its recommended weight limit.
Although this was only 2% over the limit, a very small amount, Mr Meyer says it could have contributed to the structural failure of the ship because of the heavy storms at the time.
There have also been many cases where what is actually inside the container does not match up with what has been declared on the cargo manifest, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which has the power to carry out spot checks on ships in UK ports.
Wake up call
Richard Meade, news editor for Lloyds List, the shipping industry's daily newspaper, also has concerns.
He believes that the Napoli accident was a real wake-up call to the industry.
It highlighted what people actually fill the containers with.
He blames the increased pressure on shipping lines to deliver their goods with a "just-in-time mentality".
"The industry is not complacent"
"The booming nature of the industry means that the ships are being run as hard as possible," he says.
"Time is of an essence, these ships are going at full pelt across the world. There are questions over whether corners are being cut."
Economics is one pressure; more worryingly in Mr Meade's opinion is the pressure on crews.
"The majority of all accidents are related to human error, rather than structural failing in the shipping industry," he says.
"The real problem in the future will be the quality of the crew operating the ship and if they are being pushed to the very limits of the technical ability of the ship and their own physical capabilities on board, then you're going to have problems."
Safety record
Last year the container shipping industry grew by 14%.
There are now 10.9 million container boxes travelling on ships around the world.
Each year there are 140 million container movements.
There are very few accidents and Edmund Brookes, the deputy director general of the British Chamber of Shipping, says that safety within the industry is paramount.
"The industry is not complacent," he says.
"For some time it has been working on guidelines for best practice for the whole of the container industry to draw together all the good practices of all the shipping lines.
"We are going to be presenting this to the International Maritime Organization at the next meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee in November this year."
He says legislation will be introduced to bring nations up to standard and ports in the developing world will be targeted to follow the UK example of best practice.
But to improve safety and prevent another Napoli, Mr Meyer believes the industry must also to take its foot off the economic throttle.
"There was a feeling in the industry that the ships were unbreakable, that they didn't have to slow down in bad weather or alter course, and they pushed the vessels beyond the safe limits and that has inevitable impacted on routine safety issues."
Costing The Earth was broadcast at 2100 BST on Thursday, 5 June, on BBC Radio 4 and repeated at 1500 BST on Friday, 6 June, at 1500 BST. You can also listen online for 7 days after that at Radio 4's Listen again page
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