Page 60: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2003)

ABS President Discusses Bulk Carrier Safety

ABS President and CEO, Robert

Somerville recently discussed Bulk

Carrier Safety at a conference in

London. His speech, in part, follows.

It was in the tumultuous period when the tanker industry was still trying to adjust to OPA90, to the mandate for double hulls, to the uncertainties of

COFRs and all the rest of the restrictions that were being placed on their opera- tions. It was also a time when there had been a casualty, with a small amount of pollution, involving a bulk carrier.

Of course the incident was portrayed by the media as another "tanker" casual- ty. That owner was very, very frustrated.

His basic argument was that his dry bulk brethren just "didn't get it."

That it was not just tanker operators who had been thrust into an entirely dif-

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Circle 237 on Reader Service Card Circle 305 on Reader Service Card ferent ballgame. It was the industry.

That legislators and the general public were not interested in whether one sub- set of the shipping industry was at fault.

In their eyes, it was the shipping indus- try that was at fault.

That, as a consequence, every time a bulk carrier was involved in a high pro- file casualty, the tanker sector would suffer.

His frustration was rooted in the apparent reluctance of the bulk sector to recognize this and to accept that this knock-on effect would ultimately include them.

It's only a matter of time, he warned, and they will have their own OPA90. Is there anyone here who would dispute the accuracy of his forecast?

These last 10 years have seen a steadi- ly increasing raft of new regulations affecting the design, construction, oper- ation and maintenance of bulk carriers, starting with the Enhanced Survey

Program and culminating with the possi- ble mandate for double sides.

And I think it is an odds on bet that the process is far from over even though there is clear statistical evidence that

ESP is working and that bulk carrier losses are declining.

Are the changes warranted? It doesn't matter. The technicalities of double hulls for tankers were entirely irrelevant with- in the political context.

When there is a perceived need for action, no legislator worth his salt can resist the temptation to fill the void.

And so it is that the bulk carrier owner of the future will most probably be building double side skin vessels, like it or not. Will that double-sided bulker be safer than a robustly designed, well maintained, single skin ship?

No. But that is not the way the system works. And I think this is where many members of our industry still have not fully grasped the realities of the current situation.

The public face of this industry is the 27 year-old bulk carrier that is detained in a European port with 90 safety defi- ciencies as the owner tries to squeeze in one more voyage before the pending intermediate survey sends her to the • Tow Haulage Systems • Deck Winches • System K valuations • Capstans • Refurbishment and Repair

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