Editorial:

International attention out of focus

Shipping has received more than its fair share of international attention in the past twelve months. Unfortunately all this attention has centred on terrorism and pollution. The uninformed might be led to believe that shipping is a major threat to world peace and to the global environment. As a rule the vessels engaged in vital, international trade are not ferrying terrorists around the globe, nor are they out to harm the environment. Therefore the international attention on shipping has the wrong focus. For while the regulators, hard pressed by the USA, talk of security, they forget safety. Worse still; one is led to believe that security and safety amounts to the same thing. This is a dangerous conception worthy only of those without a sound perception of what shipping really is.
Yes, vessels engaged in international trade are exposed to attack. However, this is nothing very new. Attacks on the high seas has been with us since time immemorial and is still with us today. Sterling work is done to prevent such attacks, but they still happen in the form of piracy. The shipping industry is, surely, wondering why they are being lectured about security by a country, which could not prevent three domestic planes to be hijacked by terrorist and flown into predetermined targets.
Owners and operators of vessels engaged in international trade are now being pounded by a series of measures, which will do little to enhance shipboard safety. There is every reason to be concerned about the pressure being put on the crews on modern vessels. The navigational hazards at sea are many and accidents happen. Very few when one consider the number of vessels afloat and the horrible congestion marrying some important sea-lanes. Therefore, our plea to the regulators is that they do not undermine safe ship navigation by a monumental over-kill through measures hardly understood by those at the sharp end at sea.
Most of the regulators are landlubbers who appear to regard the sea as a paved highway. The sea cannot be regulated, it can only be negotiated by professional seafarers. Our special survey on information technology and communications show that owners have given the seafarers the most up-to-date equipment to enable them to ensure safe passage of vessel and cargo. The international shipping market is like a fine-tuned instrument, which ensures very inexpensive transport to consumers in all countries. But because it is a market with no clearly defined borders it becomes intangible to regulators, who believes control is the way forward. It is not. The way forward are through sensible, international conventions, embedded in experiences gained at sea. The way forward is also that the flag states and ports are adhering to the demands of the conventions they have agreed on.
It is obvious that many of the regulations now in motion to be implemented soon will only impede sound shipping operation and could well endanger life at sea. We know this was not intended, but some of measures would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The best security is, surely, the safest possible vessel, manned by well-trained seamen.

Petter Arentz, Editor, Norway

Tillbaka till SSG 9, October 18

Latest update 18-10-2006 8:49

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