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Fitzpatrick calls for vigilance in UK shipping lanes
Sandra Speares - Friday 3 October 2008
An aerial view of a stricken tanker Sea Empress assisted by tug boats.
“UK shipping lanes are among the busiest in the world and we must maintain our vigilance and cannot afford to be complacent,” the minister told guests at a dinner to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation.
Everyone bears the responsibility to ensure that cargoes are transported safety, he said.
The minister paid tribute to ITOPF for its work on pollution prevention and clean-up as well as ensuring that people were better prepared to handle oil spills when these occurred.
He also had praise for the International Maritime Organization, saying that without its work in areas like ship design and crew safety, “shipping would not be the success story it is today.”
According to Teekay chief executive and ITOPF chairman Bjorn Moller, 20 years ago three quarters of the spills attended by the federation were from tankers and only one quarter from other ships.
“Today the proportions are reversed, reflecting the steady reduction in tanker spills, but the overall demand for ITOPF’s services remains high as our staff gets called out to smaller but increasingly costly and complex incidents”.
He described the focus on hazardous and noxious substances as particularly significant. The UK government had been instrumental in raising awareness of HNS issues, and ITOPF along with other industry bodies like the IMO, IOPC Funds and EMSA are “better prepared and ready to respond to challenging HNS incidents”.
The Secretary of State’s Representative’s intervention in the MSC Napoli casualty “demonstrated the value of a strong, government-led response,” Mr Moller said.
“It is our observation that in all too many countries, governments are taking a back seat in spill response and letting the private sector run clean-up operations. We continue to urge government to take a robust lead in the response to marine emergencies.”
A government-led response was also the original premise for the international compensation conventions designed to facilitate compensation for costs based on the “polluter pays” principle.
ITOPF will continue to fulfil its oil response role, as well as focusing on environmental damage assessment, advisory assignments, training and acting as a source of information on all aspects of marine pollution, Mr Moller said.
IMO secretary general Efthimios Mitropoulos stressed the importance of attracting new blood to the industry, as IMO prepares to launch a new drive in this area. The maritime industry must be seen as a “viable career choice comparable to other industries,” Mr Mitropoulos said. It had to offer pay and living conditions, opportunities and job satisfaction in a competitive environment, he said. “The industry must be able to provide a career path to those we need to retain.”
IMO was also responding to environmental challenges “motivated by our own green agenda and duty of care to the seas and oceans,” Mr Mitropoulos added and contributing to the drive to stem climate change and global warming.
