The campaign for quality shipping has assumed the focus of attention of the international shipping industry following the Erika disaster. The unfortunate accident, that involved a classed tanker breaking into two, begged the question of transparency, in particular whether the industry could be relied upon to regulate itself.
Not unexpectedly, the country and the region most affected by the accident, responded swiftly with calls for specific rules and standards to be applied to vessels entering the waters in the region. The Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for about half of the world shipping tonnage, would no doubt be most affected by such unilateral approach to rules and standards setting.
Recognising that only the International Maritime Organisation should be the authority on rules and standards setting affecting the international shipping industry, a quality shipping seminar in Singapore discussed some pertinent issues and implications of the "Quality Shipping Campaign" aimed at the Asia-Pacific region. In attempting to define what constitutes quality shipping, it was agreed that a "sub standard" ship and operation is one that is substantially below IMO requirements specified under IMO 787(19). A quality ship, or operation would thus be one which complies with applicable international standards of the day as well as any related, or additional standards set and accepted by others. It was agreed that in relation to the chain of responsibility, the primary responsibility for quality shipping rests with the OWNER, or OPERATOR of the ship. The first line of defense is with the Flag State which is required to have a fleet with good safety record and which causes minimal damage to the marine environment. The second line of defense rests with the Port State, which is required to act as the "quality auditor".
The nub of the matter in ensuring quality shipping is transparency. Transparency is an important factor in the communication between the Flag State and Port State as well as other relevant agencies in the industry. In this regard the creation of the Equasis data-base at the initiative of France, was welcomed.
Equasis, scheduled to be on line May 2000, could be used to deal primarily with identification of higher risk vessels as well as publicize vessels and companies of high quality.
There was also agreement that quality seafarers are fundamental to quality shipping. Shipping companies, in cooperation with governments must take responsibility to train more seafarers and in this respect the initiatives under ISM Code and STCW '95 are developments in the right direction. The Asia-Pacific shipping community must look ahead by using the findings and views expressed at the seminar to plan its future work in support of quality shipping worldwide.
Equasis will contain data from inspections, including on detentions. Equasis is being developed to provide those in the maritime industry with a single point of access to relevant data on marine safety and quality of ships.
Equasis is envisioned to provide a host of services, such as;
* Port states will be able to obtain a vessel's history from outside its own region;
* Cargo owners will be able to determine the port state control of vessels that might carry their cargo;
* Insurers will be able to better assess the condition of ships and the likelihood of problems resulting in claims;
* Flag states and classification societies will be able to view compliance information from port state control and other sources that will help them identify companies within their fleets that fail to maintain compliance.
|
|
