Editorial:

Too much focus on tankers

The only way to get rid of substandard shipping is to eradicate the market it is operating in.

Demands for new, stricter rules and legislation are inevitable after accidents such as the losses of “Prestige” and “Erika”. Reactions from the public also show that Europeans no longer accept unsafe tankers or a maritime safety framework based entirely on an international lowest common denominator.
Stricter rules are no problem for the shipping industry in general as long as the same rules applies to, and is upheld by, everyone.
Stricter rules for tanker operators will, however, not tackle the fundamental problem of substandard shipping. This is not a problem for the tanker industry alone. On the contrary, in this sector much has been done to make life tougher for those who have no ambition to follow the rules and deliver safe transport services.
The more shady parts of shipping is found in all industry segments but mostly in the low value added end of a production chain, i e as far away as possible from the end consumer.
Substandard ships could be defined as vessels not living up to the expectations behind the legislative framework. We are all aware that there are still too many ships out there with all paper work in order, but with little – or no – substance behind the certificates.
Substandard vessels are dangerous irrespective of type and the cargo they are carrying. All ships carry bunker oil in sufficient quantities to cause substantial consequences to the environment in the event of a collision or a grounding. Ill-equipped, badly maintained vessels operated by incompetent crews are also a hazard for other ships such as tankers and passenger vessels, especially in confined waters and busy fairways.
The basic question one has to ask is why does substandard shipping exist? One fundamental answer is that shipping is an extremely international and complex activity and therefore difficult, not to say impossible, to monitor and control. This environment is of course attractive for people with more shady objectives for their activities than supplying quality transport services to the land based industry.
The other answer is that substandard shipping exists because there is a market place for substandard vessels. This market place will exist as long as the price offered is the only quality demand the charterer/cargo owner wants to see fulfilled.
No ship owner in the world operating quality vessels manned by skilled crews stands a chance to compete in a market where the rate levels are set by shady owners with substandard vessels, manned by crews that may – or may not – get paid.
The only way to get rid of substandard shipping is to eradicate the market it is operating in and the only player that can achieve this is the charterer/cargo owner by increased quality demands.
It is time for charterers and cargo owners using substandard vessels to decide. Either, they start thinking maritime safety and act accordingly by increasing their standards voluntarily, or it will sooner or later be imposed on them by society.

Rolf Petrén Nilsson
Editor-in-Chief

Back to SSG 10, 16 May