Editorial:

Russian shipping on the quality track

Russian shipping has gone through a remarkable transition during the last decade and the common picture in Europe of the Russian merchant fleet as ageing and substandard is no longer valid.

The sea-going fleet today consists of close to 400 vessels of almost 10 million tonnes deadweight. It is dominated by two companies, Sovcomflot and Novoship, together owning more than half of the Russian tonnage, and their fleets consist of modern, quality vessels.

Russia’s port state control track record gives evidence to the significant quality improvement. In 2002, the Russian flag left the Paris MOU Black List and moved to the Grey List, where it continues to climb and will undoubtedly join the other quality flags on the White List in a couple of years time.

The dramatic increase of Russian oil exports has sparked concerns in political arenas and with the general public. Most seaborne exports are shipped through terminals in the Baltic Sea and in the Black Sea. The intense exploration and development of production facilities and terminals in the North could lead to a third of Russia’s oil export being shipped through the Barents Sea by 2015.
All three seas are highly sensitive sea areas. An increasing number of traffic movements means an increased risk of accidents, and in these waters a major oil spill would be a disaster. The Baltic Sea is the world’s largest brackish water reserve and it is also one of the busiest sea traffic areas in the world with around 2,000 vessels moving at sea at any given time. Cargo volumes shipped through Baltic Sea ports are expected to double, including a fourfold growth of oil shipments, to 2015.

The increased risk of a serious accident is met by numerous measures. The phasing-out of single-hull tankers, the ban for single-hull tankers to carry heavy oils, more resources for salvage and clean-up operations, international oil recovery exercises and new and safer fairways are just some of all actions taken to increase safety.

The fact that Russia wouldn’t back the multinational application to IMO to grant the Baltic Sea status as PSSA, Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, triggered political worries in the region. There seems to exist a perception of Russia as not being interested in high-quality and safe maritime transports of their oil export. This is surely wrong. The Russian government is certainly well aware that a serious accident could lead to new rules and restrictions which may hamper their exports, especially since the shipments has to pass through waters not controlled by Russia. Their No to the PSSA classification is not a No to safe shipping, it’s a No to the strategy chosen by the applying states.

Politicians and authorities have focussed almost entirely on the carrier of the oil, the tanker. Now it’s time to shift the focus. The quality of the tankers operated in the Baltic Sea has increased significantly and today there are few – if any – substandard tankers trading in the area. Substandard vessels will however be found in other shipping sectors. It doesn’t matter much how well-manned, well-equipped, well-maintained a double-hull tanker is, when it’s hit by a poorly-manned, poorly-equipped, poorly-maintained black-flagged bulker, classed by a society with a long, but hardly known, name.

The cargo owners hold one of the most important keys to safe shipping. Oil companies have said no to substandard shipping. If all other cargo owners followed suit, substandard shipping in the Baltic Sea would be history.

Rolf P Nilsson, Editor