Money still talks louder than safety

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

28 Dec 2007

So farewell 2007, overall yet another pretty good year for shipping. With some exceptions and a temporary fall in tanker rates, the markets continued to be remarkably buoyant. Even bunker prices of around US$600 a tonne didn't knock much of the gloss off. That is not to say all was well in 2007. The year started with the sinking of the Indonesian ro-ro ferry Senopati Nusantara with the loss of hundreds of lives. That turned out to be the worst accident in terms of lives lost though there have been several that have caused major environmental damage. In November, a severe storm in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, sank at least five ships and killed 23 seafarers. One of the ships that sank was a Russian tanker, the Volgoneft-139, which spilt 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil into the Black Sea, prompting fears of an ecological catastrophe. Officials later talked of the clean-up taking years to complete. Then this month, a crane mounted on a Samsung-owned barge punched holes in Hong Kong-registered single-hull VLCC (very large crude carrier) Hebei Spirit which had been anchored off the Korean coast, spilling more than 10,500 tonnes of crude oil that washed up on west coast beaches and blackened a nature reserve, local media said.Following the accident, a maritime official was quoted as saying that the country planned to bring forward a ban on calls by single-hulled tankers. While press reports suggested that the tanker's master had tried very hard to move his vessel out of harm's way, he is, according to local media, one of four masters involved who South Korea's coastguard wants to arrest. Latest reports indicate that the master of a tug and the barge have now been arrested.This would seem to be another example of the trend towards criminalising the seafarer, which has been all too apparent through this year. Other examples have been the unsuccessful prosecution of a ferry officer for the alleged manslaughter of three yachtsmen. In addition, under an EU directive, masters and crews, and possibly owners and even charterers, face criminal sanctions for causing pollution by 'serious negligence'. An industry attempt to have the directive overturned through the legal process does not look likely to succeed.Threats of criminal action will do little to mitigate another problem that has become more acute during the past year - a crew and skill shortage. In July, Rodney Eccleston, chief executive of mutual liability insurer North of England P&I Club, warned that unless the industry ploughs more profits from the current boom into recruiting and training new staff, the present adverse claims trend could soon reach a critical level.'The imminent shortage of experienced seafarers we have been forecasting is now a reality,' he said. 'There are simply not enough good people out there to run the world's much bigger fleet properly or to provide the necessary support and experience from ashore.'Experience crunchAccording to North of England, the record P&I claims facing the shipping industry and the large increases in premiums recently announced by the P&I clubs directly reflect the lack of experience often seen on today's ships. In its 2007 management report, the club said that relatively minor incidents were developing into unnecessarily major claims because basic procedures were not being followed or simple common sense was not being applied.'In the recent years of booming freight markets, we have also seen a significant reduction in the amount of sea time required to obtain qualifications,' said Mr Eccleston. 'Seafarer education is now so focused on running ships in accordance with procedures that, when an incident occurs for which there are no procedures, crews do not always have the training, initiative or experience to think independently.'The club also believes the shortage of seafarers is having a detrimental knock-on effect on the availability, experience and competence of vessel superintendents and other shore staff vital to ship operations.'Shipowners and operators worldwide are reaping the reward of the current boom,' said Mr Eccleston. 'Now, it is payback time - not in terms of increased wages, but through investing in the future. Shipowners must invest in training schools, recruitment and encouraging young people back to sea if we are to secure the crews that we need for our future. The whole industry must work together to encourage young people to consider a career at sea.'He is probably half right. Increased wages for merchant seafarers, and improved conditions, are an inevitable consequence of a very tight labour market. That was exactly what happened in similar conditions in the early and mid-seventies.A massive building boom means that unless recession bites in 2008, the shortage of skilled officers can only get worse. The consequences of making a mistake may be increasingly dire but money may talk loudest when it comes to recruiting and keeping professional seafarers.